A Taste of Youth
by YoungWriter11
Summary: Rachel never got over her crush for Mr. Schue. A friendship that forms between the two of them is ruined after the actions on a Friday night. What happens when they meet again after 10 years? Read to find out.
1. Prologue

******Prologue: Re-written**

**xxx**

It was late on a Friday night when she entered his office for the last time. It was only a few months till her graduation, and this just couldn't wait any longer. He needed to know how she felt.

"Hey Rach" He said as he smiled at her. _Oh that smile_ she thought, _that smile does things to me inside that I know it shouldn't_ .

"Hi Will" she replied.

**xxx**

Yes she called him Will. There friendship was by no means a normal student teacher relationship. Rachel had been so embarrassed when Will confronted her about her little (or slightly big) crush. It was awkward to have a crush on your teacher; no matter how good looking, smart, caring and generous he may be. The problem was that Mr Schuester had always been more like a friend to Rachel than a teacher; he also wasn't a whole lot older than her. When Mr Schuester confronted her about said crush, she had been humiliated. It was ridiculous how far she had let the situation get.

She didn't even like him at first. He underestimated her talent, didn't give her the time she deserved, and was harder on her than anyone else in the club. After a while however, she realised, that he had done those things because he was trying to help her. By making her share the solo's he had made her a better team player, and taught her to control herself. By being harder and demanding more on her, he had forced her to hone in on her talent and make herself the performer he knew she could be. But what was most important was that he'd invested his time in her. She'd been wrong about him underestimating her talent; he'd appreciated it more than anyone else. He knew what she could become, and he wanted to make it happen. This meant more to her than he could ever know.

When he'd confronted her, she'd had no idea what to say. She hadn't realised at the time, but it wasn't the first time he'd tried to broach the subject with her. He'd sung it to her a day prior with, "_Don't Stand So Close To Me/Young Girl"_. But she hadn't even realised. She'd been so transfixed by his performance that it only made her like him more. When it came to the discussion though, Rachel realised how foolish she had been. She expected him to be angry, and disgusted. If it were any other teacher, she suspected that she would have been reported, or removed from the Glee club. But he had talked to her like she was his peer, he didn't make her feel ashamed, and he had protected her. He laid things out how they were; he was married, he was her teacher, and they could never be together. There was a shred of Rachel's mind that held on to thought that perhaps he was so kind because he really did care about her.

When he made it clear the definitely did not reciprocate her feelings Rachel was of course upset, but understanding. She couldn't be angry with him; she admired him way too much. What she liked the most about Will was that unlike all the other guys at school she knew, he actually understood her. And not in the way people usually say, "Oh he gets that I'm moody sometimes" or "that I like musical theatre". It was so much more than that for Rachel. He understood her quirks, but most of all her dreams. He knew that Broadway wasn't merely a hope for her; it was an essential reality.

**xxx**

On a Thursday afternoon, Rachel took an extra amount of time packing her things up after glee practice. She waited till everyone else had left the choir room before she walked up to Mr. Schuester.

"Mr Schue." She hesitantly asked. "I was wondering is we could possibly talk for a moment?" She could tell immediately, by the look on his face what he was thinking.

"Don't worry I'm not trying to come on to you." She gently told him.

"I know" he lied, "Go head Rachel, anything you need…"

"Well I just wanted to thank you for being so kind the other day, it... meant a lot to me. And I guess I was wondering whether..." She said cutting herself off. She had been about to ask him if they could be friends. But you couldn't just ask your teacher that could you? She wasn't sure what the correct protocol on a situation like this was. Ordinarily if you had a crush on someone but it didn't work out you would want to at least be friends with them. But it didn't work like that for teachers. They were friendly, but weren't really supposed to be your 'friends'.

"Can you help me with some vocals? I'm having trouble with my latest solo." Rachel stuttered.

It was the only thing she could think of on the spot. She of course didn't need any help so she was going to need to find some way to make it look like she did. But unintentionally she worked out a way to be able to spend more time with him. As it turned out, asking Mr. Schuester to help her ended up being Rachel's greatest idea ever. Afterwards they talked for a while. He was genuinely interested in her, and wanted to know more about her. Rachel appreciated Mr. Schuester. She put her feelings aside, because she knew a friendship between them would blossom.

Rachel and Mr. Schuester's friendship grew and grew. What started as small chats about set lists and Mr. Schue helping with her solo's (even though she didn't need his help) turned into discussions on world issues, and their lives outside of school. Rachel talked about her dreams of Broadway and Will as she now called him, encouraged her, because he knew she would make it. It was a friendship they both knew was going to extend long after Rachel finished school. A friendship that was probably not appropriate for a student and teacher yet was not romantic. Rachel's feeling for Will never left her; in fact they had only grown just like her ability to hide her affection from him. She knew he would never see her in a romantic way... he was married. Rachel grew to accept this.

But everything changed when Will left his wife.

**xxx**

He didn't know when they had started, but Will's feelings for Rachel were never able to go away. It was crazy and wrong and completely inappropriate, but there was something about her that he just could not shake. He had never known anyone to have a passion as strong as hers. She didn't let other people define who she was, didn't follow the crowd like a sheep, and she didn't let anything get in the way of her dreams.

It was strange. To be able to talk to a student, better than you could talk to any one else in the world. He couldn't remember the last time he had, had a real discussion with his wife Terri, yet here he was day after day with Rachel talking about anything and everything. He found himself thinking of ways he could be around her. He'd want to discuss song choices, practise her solo's and sometimes give advise on college applications. It was inappropriate, but he told him self it was okay, because he'd never crossed any boundaries.

When it came apparent that she had a crush on him, Will's mind was displaced. It made him feel things, and think of things he shouldn't. He worked hard to suppress his feelings for her, knowing how badly things would turn out. He'd learned to consider her a friend. But he couldn't help but take thrills out of things like hearing her say his name, "Will". She said his name so beautifully. She was beautiful, everything about her, and she didn't even know it.

When Will and his wife, Terri, got divorced, Rachel was there for him. If it weren't for the fact he thought Rachel no longer had feelings for him, he probably would have kissed her. He could picture himself with her. He pictured himself happy. For the first time in a long time there was someone in his life who he could talk to about anything. And she was 100% off limits.

**xxx**

"Hi Will" she replied, enjoying his intoxicating smile.

It was late, and it was a Friday, so there was no one around. She had often spent time in office over the past few years but tonight would not be one of their usual chats. Tonight, she would tell him how she felt about him. In a few months there would be nothing stopping them. He and Terri were no longer married, and soon he wouldn't be her teacher anymore.

As Rachel came down to sit next to him on her couch, she struggled to find the words she was looking for. She had spent so many hours thinking about this moment, yet here she was, wordless. Of course she'd accounted for the fact that he literally might not feel the same, but she presumed he would handle it the same way he did last time. When Rachel caught Will staring and her cleavage, she knew it was time to make her move. Slightly shaking with nerves, Rachel placed her hand on Will's knee, and slowly slid it up his inner thigh. Will immediately closed his eyes and lounged his head back at the sensation. The feeling of her touching him was so amazing that he had lost all sense of reason.

Before she reached is crouch, Will came to his senses and jerked her hand off him. "Rachel what are you doing?" he whispered unable to breathe.

"I have feelings for you, and I know you have them too" she quietly replied. Rachel's answer was met with silence from Will, unable to put any words together.

"Tell me you don't have them too." She said before pausing, "Tell me." She said more urgently.

"Don't tell me how I feel Rachel." He replied as though he were about to cry.

"I'm almost finished school and you're single. There is nothing stopping us", she told him.

"Rachel I..."

"Shh" she said cutting him off by placing her finger over his lips. Without another word, Rachel stood up, locked the door of his office and pulled down his blinds.

"It's okay Will, I want this", she told him as she straddled his lap. Will couldn't do anything but stare at her; she was completely gorgeous. He had dreamt this scene over and over in his head, thinking it would never happen. But right now in this room, he wanted nothing more than to have her right away.

Taking Will's hand in her own, Rachel slid it up her bare thigh, and under her skirt. Her legs were soft and silky smooth like butter, Will wanted his hands to stay there forever. Before he could think anymore, Will let his body take control of his mind. He slid his hand up further, underneath her panties and began to stroke her. She was wet, which made him ever harder. As he brought his lips up to hers Rachel moaned into his mouth. As she began to rock against his hand, Will whispered into her ear, "Take off your panties".

Rachel stood up to remove them, but was stopped by Will's hands on hers. She looked at him confused but understood, when he began to pull them down for her. Stepping out of them, she returned to her straddling position, where will continued to stroke her moist flesh harder and faster. His lips were on hers, and she wanted them there forever. Rachel moved her hands to Will's crouch, and proceeded to unzip his pants. She pulled them down slightly, and pulled out his penis. Gently, she stroked him, wanting him inside of her.

Leaning down to Will's ear she whispered, "I want you to take my virginity." Immediately Will stopped and pushed her off him. Rachel hit the floor startled and confused. Looking up she saw that Will had already pulled up his pants.

"Shit, Rachel. Shit…this sort of thing just cannot happen."

"What? What's happening?" she asked confused. He had been so into it, she couldn't work out what had gone wrong. Will looked like he was crying, and she had never seen him so stressed in his life. Not even when he had found out Terri was faking her pregnancy.

"Do you understand what will happen, if anyone finds out about this?" he snapped.

Yes she knew, but she would never be stupid enough to tell anyone.

"God you're so young." He said.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked upset, feeling the tears well in her eyes.

"Numerous things. This is completely inappropriate; I told you long ago that I hold no feelings for you. I admit that it was a mistake on my part to engage with you, I have no idea what I was thinking. My divorce with my wife has changed nothing. Now... I think you should leave." He was so angry; he had never treated her like this before. She couldn't comprehend how he could be so one thing one minute and then the complete opposite seconds later. He was like a monster, and she was scared of him. As she picked up her things, Rachel began to cry and left his office for the last time, feeling foolish, humiliated and alone.

Will did his best to ignore Rachel after that. By being angry with her, it was the only way he could keep her away from him. His feelings for her were too strong, and he couldn't let himself succumb again. They couldn't be friends anymore, so he kept his distance. It hurt Rachel to have him ignore her, and she grew resentful of him. They didn't speak again for the rest of the year, aside from general comments during glee club.

When Rachel graduated she knew she would never see Will again. Rachel scored incredible results and was accepted into Julliard, just like she had always dreamed. This was the start of a new life. Rachel moved on from Will, only thinking of him every so often. Will continued teaching long after Rachel left. He never forgot her. He taught many students just like her, but none of them the same. He read about Rachel in the paper, she'd made it big on Broadway, he knew she would. He couldn't regret what he'd done; she had always deserved so much better than him.

**xxx**

**Next chapter is 10 years into the future.**


	2. Jazz Blues

**Jazz Blues: Re-written**

**xxx**

"_Come on, babe,  
Why don't we paint the town?"_

It's the last time she is ever going to sing this song on stage. As she struts across the stage in her favourite fishnet stockings, in her favourite little black wig, and her favourite black corset as Velma Kelly for the last time, she thinks of _him._ She isn't sure why, because the last time she'd thought of him had been years ago when she had cast all thought of him away.

Perhaps it was because she realised as she belted out her last performance of 'All that Jazz', that she realised that this was the height of her career. And her career began with him; William Schuester. His encouragement was what had pushed her through high school. It was why she was now closing her third Broadway show as the star. Damn that man for getting in the way of her last performance, she thought. Nothing would stop her this night though. Her game was at its best, and she'd never felt more alive.

Moving into her final position of the number, Rachel belted;

"_And all… that... Jazz"_

After her two years of tireless work on Chicago, it was all over. At the end of the show she stood on stage breathless next to her Roxie co-star. The audience's roar was relentless. They had both been amazing tonight, but the applause was all for her. As they stood in ovation of her, she felt empty. She should be crying out of happiness, but something was missing. This was what she'd wanted, she'd worked her whole life for this, but somehow she needed something more.

As Rachel finally reached her dressing room, after what felt like hours of hugging and kissing from her cast mates and various crew members, she found a tonne of flowers placed on her dresser, along with a card. In cursive writing, the card read:

"_You still amaze me even after our days back at Julliard. Keep living your dream sweetie. – Elsie."_

Elsie was Rachel's best friend. They'd been roommates at Julliard, and had been inseparable ever since. They'd shared countless important memories together. Like the time Elsie flashed a policeman to avoid paying a speeding fine, or the time Rachel had argued their way out of being suspended for attending class hung over. And the times they were there for each other after breakups.

The first time Rachel had ever gone out drinking had been with Elsie. They were underage, so of course Rachel was stressed about the whole situation. She was only in her first year of college but as soon as she entered that bar was feeling utterly different from her high school self. She found herself more confident, happier and alive than she ever had. That was, until she saw _him._

"_Come on Ray, have a wet pussy" Elsie almost screamed at her._

"_What!" Rachel shouted with a look of shock on her face._

_"It's a drink sweetie; a shot. Now, come on! You'll like it!" _

_Loosening her face, Rachel laughed and without another word grabbed the shot glass, and downed it one._

_5 shots later, Rachel and Elsie were dancing on the 'd-floor' with a bunch of cute guys, grooving to the beat, swishing their hair too and fro, and getting lost in the music. As Rachel turned around for a second and looked towards the bar, she saw a very familiar face. Stunned, Rachel froze still forgetting all about the music and cute guys standing around her._

"_Ray?" Elsie questioned._

_"It's him, it's Will" she whispered back._

"_What? Who's Will? Is he that sexy guy that you're staring at?" Elsie asked. _

_"Elsie we have to go, I'll explain later." Rachel said desperately. _

Elsie didn't know who Will was, what Rachel's history was with him or anything about the situation. But she loved Rachel like a sister, and trusted that leaving was the right thing to do. She knew it was serious by how drastically Rachel's mood had changed. So they left straight away.

As Rachel read the card left by Elsie, she couldn't help but think of this night, and how pathetic she had been that night. At the time, she thought she'd finally become this confident, outgoing and care free girl, but really not much had changed.

After they left the bar Rachel had told Elsie everything. Elsie didn't judge her at all. Instead she listened to everything Rachel had to say, and they ended up talking for hours, Elsie sharing some stories of her own. It was that night, that Rachel knew they would be friends forever. After this night, Rachel blocked all feelings and memories of Will from her life, and began to move on with her life for real. She became the woman she was today. And Will… well he was basically forgotten; a distant memory of her adolescent past.

Until now.

**xxx**

Another poorly written Spanish essay. Will grimaced at the lack of enthusiasm kids at school these days had. He'd been marking papers all night, and was starting to wonder if he was ever going to finish reading such dribble. Sometimes he couldn't fathom why he was still working at McKinley. There weren't many things that still tied him to Lima, Ohio. There was the glee club of course, which probably was why he stayed. But even they didn't have the enthusiasm that the old kids used to have.

Glee was more main stream than ever, which meant the kids in glee were less interested in being themselves, and more interested in fitting in. He missed the old days. When Glee meant everything to his kids, and they fought with there souls to win nationals.

He missed Rachel.

Later that night sitting on his couch, watching Seinfeld re-runs he thought back to the time when Rachel and the others had been at McKinley. Those kids had real dreams, and they were all going to out and chase them. Especially Rachel. She'd wanted to take Broadway by storm and she had. Her name frequented the papers often, and always with rave reviews of her shows and performances. It was what he'd always wanted for her. As hard as it was for him to remove her from his life, it was the right thing to do. He'd not have had the guts to move to New York all those years ago, and he knew she wouldn't have left if she thought there was or could still be something between them.

He'd crushed on Rachel, and he'd crushed on her hard. Everything about her mesmerised him. Thinking about that night in his office, he wished it had ended differently. She was 18, so it wasn't like he was a paedophile, but he was her teacher which made it so, so wrong. He wondered how things would be different if he ever saw again. But the likelihood of a star as bright as Rachel setting foot in Lima, Ohio again was incredibly low.

**xxx**

"Shut up Justin, you bitch" she joked entering the doorway of her apartment.

"I'm hanging up now, go back to bed with that sexy man bear already!" she said hanging up her phone.

"What a slut" she said laughing to herself as she picked up her mail.

After a long day of _no_ rehearsals, _no_ performances and _no_ dressing up as a murderer, Rachel was exhausted. Sitting on the couch, flipping through her mail, Rachel found boring letter, after boring letter.

"Bill, Bill, Junk, Bill, Purple envelope…"

Amongst the heaps of white envelopes, was a pretty little purple envelope with her name; Rachel Barbra Berry, written in handwriting. She knew that handwriting.

_Miss Quinn Fabray and Mr Finn Hudson,_

_Invite you, to celebrate their wedding, _

_In Lima, Ohio on January 29__th__._

"January 29th?" she yelled. November was almost over. Eager with excitement Rachel ran to her phone to call Quinn.

Since leaving school, Quinn and Rachel somehow managed to stay in touch. It was strange because they weren't exactly friends during high school. Sure they had gone through a lot together, but Quinn had always been on the other end of the social spectrum to Rachel. Possibly because they were both studying outside of Lima or possibly because they really did like each other, they decided to get in contact with each other through email.

What were originally a bunch of detailed emails, turned into lengthy phone conversations and eventually catch-ups. They had never realised during high school how much they had in common, and also how well they really got on.

When college was over, Quinn moved back to Lima to be with Finn, but Rachel never did. New York became her home. Quinn visited her often, coming to all of her opening shows, and plenty of weekend trips. Rachel's friends became Quinn's friends too. Other than Elsie, Quinn was Rachel's closest friend.

"Q, you sly son of a bitch!" Rachel yelled with glee.

"He he, so I take it you got the invitation then?" Quinn replied giggling.

"Its gorgeous! How come you didn't tell me you guys were planning this!" she asked.

"Because we haven't been." She told her.

"It was a real spur of the moment thing. We just sort of decided that if we were to have children, we should probably be married. And we're both ready for children so we thought…hey let's get married! So we booked a church, sorted out some arrangements, and sent out invites."

"Wow, that's amazing babe. I love it, and I absolutely cannot wait! You two are the perfect couple. After everything you've gone through and come out on the other side this strong... such an inspiration." She finished almost with tears.

"Aw thanks." Quinn told her sincerely. "It'll be interesting to see you back on Lima again. When was the last time? 10 years ago maybe?" Quinn asked.

"That sounds about right" Rachel said laughing insincerely. There were reasons she hadn't set foot in that place for so long.

"You know what, it's funny because I'd actually planned on spending some time with my fathers there during January. "

"That's great, you can be here for the preparations!" Quinn excitedly told her.

"Well maybe I'll come earlier. Since Chicago wrapped, I've had nothing to do around New York. It should be nice to get away for a little bit. And it has been so God damn long since I've been in Lima."

"Well Lima has missed you! You better call and see me as soon as you arrive back home!"

After they wrapped up their conversation, Rachel decided to turn in for the night. She couldn't be bothered eating so she grabbed a bottle of red wine, and planted herself in bed with a good book. It had been forever since she'd been able to chill out like this. Before long she grew too tired to read, and resorted to lying awake in her bed. She wished she had a cat or something, so she didn't feel so alone.

She was nervous about returning to Lima. But she hadn't been lying to Quinn; she really had planned on returning for a month or so. She doubted it would last though. She would arrive in December but would probably be back _home_ in New York in a minute. She could make trips here and there for wedding things, but she guessed she would just have to wait and see how it all worked out.

**xxx**

Rachel's first day back in Lima, went better than expected. Sometimes with fast pace life style she lived in New York, she forgot how much she really missed being around her Dads. Obviously they visited her very often, but somehow it was different being back here. Here they were casual, and relaxed. It was just like it had been growing up.

The spent the majority of the day talking, playing cards, and watching old movies. Barbra movies were a particular favourite.

"We're glad you here Ray-bear" They told her before they turned in for the night.

"Me too" she said giving them both a hug.

Sleeping in her old bedroom was strange. Her bed wasn't as soft and supportive as her Queen in New York, but she somehow felt more comfortable. Her room looked like something out of a Strawberry Shortcake book. She'd had the worst taste. Thank God she had managed to change. If it weren't for the help of some amazing, and most of them gay, friends, she would probably still be a flaming loser.

It took her a less than normal amount of time to get to sleep this night. She no longer considered Lima her home, but tonight she really felt like she had come _home; _for the first time in years.

The next day, she ventured out of her old house with her dads for the first time. This was it; she was officially back in Lima. Although it was only the grocery store, Rachel felt like she was being watched. She thought that it was probably because the way she dressed made her look so out of place. She looked like she was from New York or Chicago or an equally big city. She looked like a mere tourist in her own town.

Will didn't much enjoy going grocery shopping. Especially since the only reputable one in town, had an old lady working there, Tabitha, who persistently hit on him every time he was there. Will was too nice to ever cause a scene to make her stop. Instead, he endured her each time he did his shopping. Fortunately today Tabitha was not in sight.

Looking around trying to find her, Will spotted someone else instead. Facing away from him, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in this store. He couldn't even see her face, but he knew she was beautiful. She clearly wasn't from around here; he'd not seen someone as glamorous as her around here in…ever.

Realising he had been creepily staring at this stranger selecting her vegetables for probably minutes, Will turned around to continue is shopping. Without looking where he was going, still thinking about that beautiful woman, Will walked right into Rachel's dads.

"William!" They enthusiastically said in unison.

"Hiram, LeRoy. Great to see you both" He said shaking their hands.

Lima was a small town, and he saw Rachel's dads often. They were very fond of him, almost treating him like a surrogate son sometimes. They often looked out for him, wanting to make sure everything was okay. Will never quite understood why, but thought they probably knew how much he'd meant to Rachel at one point in her life. That had probably had something to do with it, he thought.

He used to ask about how Rachel was, eager to know anything he could about her, not willing to forget her. But it had been years since he'd really bothered to ask again. It had been so long since he'd seen her other than her pictures in the paper.

Will didn't know though how much her fathers really did know. Although they would never have condoned the two of them sleeping together whilst Rachel was at school, they had always sort of wanted Rachel to end up with Will. An unlikely reality they knew, but never stopped thinking how perfect they were for each other. It was why they spent time with him, why they looked out for him, and why they kept him posted on what Rachel was up to.

"We haven't seen you around here in a while. Tabitha scared you away huh?" they asked jokingly nudging him.

"Ha-ha, well yeah… something like that. Is she still working here?" he asked

"No." they both said laughing, before turning completely serious. "She died."

"Oh My God! Are you serious?" will exclaimed.

"Yeah" Hiram and LeRoy said contemplatively.

"That's…kind of sad." Will said unsure of how to react. He'd hated her, but it was still kind of sad.

"Indeed." Hiram said.

"So how's things with you Will?" LeRoy asked trying to break the awkward silence.

"All good on my end. Just the usual old stuff really, Glee, Spanish, unenthusiastic kids."

"Ha-ha yes isn't that always the way about kids these days" LeRoy said agreeing.

"And how about you guys?" Will asked in turn.

"We're great actually. Aren't we Hiram?"

"Sure are! Our darling Rachel has come home." Hiram told him clearly filled with happiness.

"Really?" Will asked surprised. On the list of likely things to happen in the world, this was not one of them.

"Yes, she's here actually!" Hiram exclaimed

"What do you mean? In Lima?" Will questioned.

"No, like right here. She's standing over there behind you, looking at those vegetables."

Will swivelled around to find the girl he'd been staring at earlier. Only this time he could see her face. That face, he knew that face. That was Rachel. After all these years, thinking and dreaming about her, there she was in life form, standing metres away from him

Will was dumbfounded. He'd thought Rachel was beautiful when she was his student, but now she was something else. Dressed in a black pencil skirt and tight fitted white shirt, she was the sexiest yet classiest woman he had ever looked at.

Her hair was longer, and had randomly placed curls throughout. Her body was more toned and she looked taller and thinner. She had also grown considerably around her bust. She wasn't the same girl he'd known ten years ago. She was a mature woman; he'd be lucky to have some one like her to give him the time of day.

Rachel grimaced at the terrible selection of vegetables this store had. It was the best store in town as well. Maybe she'd have to drive out of town to get some better food. _How did I ever live like this_, she thought. Giving up she looked over to where her Dads were standing, to find them talking to someone.

_Fuck_ she thought. It was Will. She hadn't seen or even heard of him in what felt like centuries. Hesitantly, and somewhat nervously, Rachel walked over to their small group.

"Hello" she reservedly said as she reached them. _Even her voice is different_, Will said in his mind.

Wanting the two of them to catch up, Hiram and LeRoy decided to fabricate a reason to leave them alone together.

"Rach, we're just going to go look at the wine section. Why don't you come find us when you two have finished catching up" they told her. Before Rachel could protest, they were gone.

"It's been a long time." Will said, unsure of what to say to this stranger before him.

"It has." She vaguely replied. She had no interest in this man anymore. He was a dull part of her former life. She told herself she could do better than him a long time ago. Nothing was going to change that. Sensing her disinterest, Will confirmed what he'd always thought was true. Her feelings for him didn't hang around like his had for her. Going out on a limb, Will decided he'd give it one last chance.

"Well I have to get going, I have so many essays to mark. But we should get together sometime, how long are you home for?"

_Home_, she laughed to herself. This was not her home anymore. Clearly not a lot had changed in his life. Still working at his boring job in Lima, grading crappy Spanish essays.

"Look Will, I'm pretty busy at the moment" she lied; she wasn't busy at all. Since Chicago had wrapped she'd had almost nothing going on, which was sort of how she ended up back in Lima.

Will's eyes dropped. It was what he'd expected. Of course she had no time for him. Not only was she amazingly good looking but she now she was a New York hot shot too.

"Well in case your schedule frees up, here's my number" Will said, handing her his business card.

"Right" she said, fake smiling.

"Okay well like I said before, I better get going. Hopefully I'll hear from you." He said smiling, before walking away. Wondering whether he would ever see her again, Will paid for his shopping and left.

Unable to move from her spot, Rachel watched as Will walked away. She'd wanted to not feel anything when she saw him. To re-confirm in her mind, that she was better than him, that she was over him, and that she was not the little girl she used to be. But as much as tried to hide it, she couldn't help but feel something. It wasn't a warm and fuzzy feeling though. Seeing him again, had made her sad. She felt like she was going to cry, and she couldn't figure out why.

"It's funny," she said to her dads on the car ride home, "You never mentioned, you were so close with William Schuester."

"Didn't we?" They slyly replied.

**xxx**

Lying in bed that night, Rachel tried to take her mind of Will, but was unable. She remembered that night in his office. She could feel him touching her everywhere. It was a memory she'd blocked out of her mind long ago, thinking she would never see him again. She'd been so cold to him in the grocery store. It was callous, but it wasn't just out of pride. Seeing him made her feel speechless again, like he always used to.

Feeling that she'd come off to harsh earlier that day, she decided she probably should catch up with him; just one time. And while she's there, she thought, she would show him everything he missed out on when he threw her away all those years ago. As she dialled his number, and listened to the rings of the phone, Rachel tried to work out what she was going to say. Waiting for him to answer, she closed her eyes.

"Hello?"


	3. Looks

**Looks: Re-written**

**xxx**

"Hi" Rachel softly replied, "It's um... it's Rachel".

Rachel let out a sigh of relief, having finally managed to speak into the phone. She didn't understand how Will consistently made her feel so nervous. She quickly snapped out of her nervousness though, and reminded herself that she's the one that's in control.

"Rachel? Um... Hi" Will managed to stutter out. When he'd given her his number, he hadn't expected she would ever call. He had to do it, because he would have always wondered what would have happened if he didn't. She had been so convincing that she wasn't interested by the way she acted earlier that day.

"Well don't sound so surprised" Rachel replied jokingly.

Will's Speechlessness at Rachel's sudden change of mood made her laugh. She liked being able to play with him. This was going to be great, she thought. She was finally going to make Will sorry for what he did to her all those years ago. She held all the power now. She would lead him on and withdraw him just like he had done to her on all those years ago.

"Well I mean don't get me wrong, I'm so glad you called, but…"

"But…?" she pushed, enjoying Will's struggle to find the words he wanted.

"When we talked before, you seemed as though you were kind of…busy. I didn't think you'd call." Will told her. He had said he thought she was busy, but really he'd just thought she was disinterested.

"Well maybe my schedule freed up" she told him.

"So what are you doing tomorrow night" she suggestively asked before Will had a chance to say anything else.

"No plans" Will promptly answered.

"Good, you're coming out with me. Perrins, 8 o'clock." Rachel said before immediately hanging up the phone.

Will didn't even have the chance to say he'd love to, but Rachel knew what his answer was. Placing her phone back on the receiver Rachel couldn't help the large smile that appeared across her face.

**xxx**

Rachel woke up the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing. Quinn Fabray, her screen said.

"Hey Q. How are you?" Rachel answered stifling a yawn.

"Oh my god I woke you up, I'm so sorry!" Quinn said worried.

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at Quinn's genuine concern for having possibly woken her up

"Don't even worry about it, what's up? I was planning on calling you today anyway to maybe catch up!" Rachel told her.

"My thoughts exactly, how about a coffee and some window shopping?" Quinn asked in reply.

"Sounds great, the mall in an hour?" Rachel enthusiastically asked.

"Yes! See you then."

**xxx**

Quinn ordered a table at a new French café in the local shopping mall. It was the classiest place around here, and since Rachel was used to such classy places in New York, she thought it was a good choice. Quinn looked over the menu as she waited for Rachel to arrive; her mouth watering at every item on the list.

Looking up she saw a very enthusiastic Rachel running and waving her hands all the way up to her table.

"Quinnnnnn!" She shouted over the loud clutter over the café as she reached her. Standing up from her seat, Quinn pulled Rachel into a deep hug. Her face beaming with excitement and happiness, Rachel pulled away from their hug to give Quinn a proper look.

"You…Look…AMAZING! You've got the bridal look my dear!" She told her.

It was funny that Rachel made mention of Quinn's looks when Quinn had been stunned at how Rachel looked. No matter how many times they had seen each other since finishing high school, Quinn still couldn't believe Rachel was the same overly ambitious, and at times obnoxious girl.

"Me? Are you serious, look at you! How do you manage to maintain such a good figure? I feel like I'm getting older and more tired looking everyday."

Rachel smiled at the beautiful girl standing in front of her. "Honey, we're still young!" she told her, "And besides, I've had to keep this up for Chicago. Wait till you see me in a couple months"

"You were pretty damn sexy as Velma. You almost could have turned me!" Quinn said with a wink. She was telling the truth though; she had been getting some seriously interesting feelings when she'd seen Rachel on stage in Chicago.

After they'd got their small talk out of the way and they ordered their lunch, the two girls got on to some more serious discussion.

"Yes, I'm telling you! Matt Bomer is far better looking than Ian Harding.

"Nope, no way Ian Harding is a million times better looking!"

"Well, if teachers are you're kinda thing then." Quinn told her as a joke.

Rachel choked on her water right there and then as Quinn uttered that last sentence. Quinn had no idea how much truth there was to her last statement.

"Crap! Are you okay?"

"Ye…s" Rachel said gasping for breath.

"Hohhh, okay better now!" Rachel said finally recovering.

"I can't believe your getting married Q. I knew you and Finn would be together forever, but this is all just so exciting! Have you guys planned a honeymoon or anything? Please tell me you're going on a honeymoon! I will die if you don't!"

"Rachel relax" Quinn said laughing. "Yes we have planned a honeymoon. All is well in the world. We're going to spend a week, possibly two, in Aspen. Hopefully there will still be lots of snow around."

"Has Finn ever been skiing before?" Rachel queried.

"Ha ha No, he hasn't! I'm going to have to teach him."

"Now that I'd love to see," Rachel laughed.

"It should be fun," Quinn said hopefully,

"And romantic!" Rachel added.

"Speaking of romantic, how is Oliver?"

And that was what did it. Up until now, there conversation and been very light and bubbly, just missing all the serious topics that she feared to talk about. Like _Oliver; Oliver _was a topic she wished not to talk about.

The immediate look of sadness on Rachel's face made Quinn instantly regret her decision to bring Oliver up. She knew things hadn't been so great between the two of them, but Rachel had never given her the full story. She wasn't fully updated.

"Oh crap. I'm sorry Rach, just forget I asked." Quinn said tried to resolve the situation

"No, No its okay... Ah well we talked the other day actually." Rachel softly told her

"And..." Quinn said urging Rachel to continue.

"And…he...we both agreed that it's definitely over" Rachel paused and looked down at her coffee. When her face returned to Quinn's eye level she was smirking,

"And by that I mean, I told him to fuck off, and get the fuck out off my life" She hadn't really though. She hadn't been that strong with him in a long, long time.

**xxx**

Rachel had met Oliver three years ago. It was a cold winter's afternoon in New York, and she was pissed.

_Rachel had just finished a matinee performance of Chicago that had gone terribly wrong. She missed two of her top notes and slightly stumbled during the opening number. Who knew stilettos could be so hard to dance in? Her director did not look pleased. She was sure she was going to be fired. She'd left the theatre crying, and not thinking coherently. Instead of catching a cab home like a normal person would during winter, she'd decided to walk the many blocks home._

_So there she was, walking down the street in New York, crying, when one of the heels on her favourite brown leather boots breaks. She stumbles and falls to the ground, considering not getting up._

"_Fuck" she cried. _

_That's when Rachel hears the most beautiful voice she's ever heard. _

_"Hey there, can I help you?" When Rachel hears the voice, she looks up to see this incredibly handsome blonde man holding is hand out to her. She takes is hand, letting him pull her up and smiles before she wipes away here tears. _

_"Thankyou" she said as she took of her broken shoe. _

_"What's a gorgeous girl like you doing crying out here in the cold" the handsome man asked. _

_"Bad day" she said. _

_The two stand there awkwardly for a moment before Oliver asks "Hey, aren't you the girl playing Velma in the revival of Chicago that's showing at the moment". _

_Rachel can't believe she's been recognised considering how different she looks when she's on stage. "Yes" she said smiling._

"_I'm Rachel."_

"_Oliver" he said shaking her hand._

"_I haven't had my hand shaken like this in a long time." She told him smiling._

"_A beautiful woman like you deserves to have her hand shaken" he was so charming, she was completely taken with him._

"_Thanks" she said feeling the most flattered she'd had in a long time._

"_Can I drive you somewhere? I can't let you walk home with one shoe on."_

"_Thanks but that's okay" she said. "I'm really not far. My apartment is just around the corner."_

"_Well let me walk you at least." He insisted._

"_Okay" she said, her smile growing even larger._

_As they walked, he asked her why she'd been crying. She explained to him about her horrible day. He listened, and tried to console her. Rachel found her worries from that day fade away. She would come straight to the theatre tomorrow and wow them all. They weren't going to fire her. She was Rachel Fucking Berry, and she was a star. All she'd needed was a little bit of confidence._

"_Well this is me." She said as they reached her apartment building. "Thanks so much for helping me out, and for talking. I really needed it."_

"_I could tell." He told her honestly._

"_Can I make it up to you by taking you out for dinner sometime?"_

"_Oh, you're going to take me out for dinner are you?"_

"_Yes I am, as a matter of a fact. I'm a modern girl."_

"_You certainly are" he told her but immediately agreed to take up her offer of dinner._

_They exchanged numbers before he left, and he jokingly added that he would only come if she wore a more sensible pair of shoes._

Their dinner date had gone swimmingly and they hit it off straight away. After a few months they were madly in love and living together. Needless to say their sex life was amazing.

Oliver had been introduced to all of Rachel's friends. By this time in Rachel's life she actually did have a lot of friends; one of the many things that had changed since high school. There was Elsie, her long time best friend from Julliard. The other girls she kept in touch with from Julliard, Marie, Annie, Claire, and Phoebe, her ex-room mate Marcelle. There was Joanne and Mark, her friends from Spring Awakening. Adam, Anthony, and Justin the gorgeous gay trio she used to work with at Macys. Finn and Quinn, who came up to see her in New York every once in a while, and of course the ex's; Tim, Michael and Greg, who she was all still friends with. And these were just the close friends. All of her friends loved him, and it wasn't long before people starting gossiping about possible wedding bells.

Those bells were never to come though.

When Oliver and Rachel had been living together for around a year she found herself slowly falling out of love with him. But it was a long time until she finally left him. There was another side of him that she'd never noticed was there before. He wasn't always that charismatic, charming, outgoing and care free guy that she'd grown to love. There were things he wanted from her that she couldn't give. These caused rifts between them that never fully resolved. As their relationship progressed things just became worse and worse. He never called when he was coming home late, which was often - sometimes not at all. He started drinking more than usual, and had embarrassed her in front of her friends more than once. He would be angry with her if she was too tired to have sex, which would inevitably turn into an argument about how they never had sexy anymore.

The last straw came when Oliver didn't come home one night. She'd sat up all night waiting for him, fuming with anger. When he finally came tumbling into the apartment, still drunk, at 7.00 am the next morning Rachel was horrified. They had a huge argument which ended in Rachel finding out he'd been having affairs for the past three months. His pathetic excuse was that he wasn't getting enough from her. Rachel didn't bother asking him to leave; instead she went to Elsie's place, telling him it was indefinite. When she returned a week later Oliver's stuff was gone.

It had now been at least four months since she'd seen him, they'd talked on the phone a few times but Rachel was done with him. He was her first ex she hadn't stayed friends with.

**xxx**

"Rach, Rach? Did you hear what I said" Quinn's voice came, snapping Rachel out of her thoughts. Quinn and Rachel had now progressed onto window shopping, which soothed Rachel as usual.

"Sorry love, I was just lost in thought, what did you say?" Rachel stuttered out.

"I asked what you're doing tonight? Finn and I are having Noah and his wife over for dinner, so you should come." Quinn told her.

"Oh" Rachel said laughing as she remembered what her plans for the night were.

"What?" Quinn asked, intrigued by Rachel's sudden burst of laughter.

"You'll never guess what I'm doing tonight" she told her.

"You're right I'll never guess. Tell me!" Quinn said eagerly.

"I'm going out for a drink with Will Schuester" As soon as the sentence left Rachel's lips, Quinn's smile faded. Rachel had told Quinn about what happened between her and Will all those years ago. She wasn't as accepting of it as Elsie had been. It took her while to get used to the idea of it, but she came round eventually. It somehow managed to make them closer. Rachel guessed that when you're able to tell someone something as personal as that about yourself, that's when you know they are a true friend.

"Shit sweetie, are you sure you want to go there again?" Quinn asked her concerned.

"Quinn I don't think I've ever heard you curse before! Anyway, it's not a romantic date or anything, we're just catching up and besides you know I've moved on. " Quinn still wasn't convinced. She was worried Rachel would get hurt again. She really hadn't had the best track record with men.

"Anyway…how much can it hurt to show him what he's missed?" Rachel said giving Quinn a wink. Quinn couldn't help but laugh and try to let go of her concerns. She knew that if Will were like any other guy, he would be incredibly pissed that he had missed his chance with Rachel.

"Well if you're sure…" Quinn finally relented before they continued on their way.

When Quinn caught Rachel eyeing off a pair of sexy red lingerie, she laughingly shook her head. Rachel could pretend and suppress it all she wanted, but this date with Will was definitely _romantic._

**xxx**

Rachel stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a sexy pair of red lingerie – reminiscent of the ones she had been looking at earlier that day. She let herself momentarily fantasise about how Will would react if he saw her in them. . For just a small moment in her old bedroom, in front of her mirror she indulged her long hidden fantasies. Although she had carefully selected this pair of underwear to wear tonight, she reminded herself that she had no intentions of actually letting Will seeing them.

Moving on, Rachel pulled on a very sexy, little red dress, and zipped up its back. The dress showed her off in all the right places; particularly the bust, showing off just that little bit more than appropriate amount of cleavage. She again told her reflection in the mirror that her date tonight with Will was not romantic, and that her soul purpose for tonight was to show Will how much she has changed, and how much he has missed. Rachel was proud of her life, and she didn't need Will to be a part of it.

Rachel then picked out her new Gucci fur bolero. Her bolero was soft and smooth. The touch of it reminded her of the feeling of having someone run their hand down your back, which made her think of Will running his hand down her back. Rachel now had to concentrate harder and remind herself that she did not have any romantic feelings towards Will.

Rachel's hair was freshly washed, and shiny. Instead of straitening it like she usually did when she went out, she left it natural, with all of its bouncy volume. The new conditioner she was using, had been giving her hair a terrific style lately. She had curls randomly placed across her head, which softened her appearance. She wore her large diamond earrings, and left her make up minimal. She didn't want to give Will the idea that she'd put too much effort into her appearance, so by keeping the jewellery and makeup to a minimum and her hair looking natural, she would do so.

Rachel put on her black suede pumps to give her some more height, but also because they were totally gorgeous and had become her new favourite shoes. She also knew from experience that guys found suede sexy. She finished her outfit with touch of perfume; one, which had an alluring, rose scent that lingered.

When she decided her appearance was ready, Rachel realised she hadn't quite put this much effort into a date before. This wasn't really a date though, and because of her history with Will, looking good, no looking_ right_, was never more important. Or at least that's what she told herself. Whether Rachel was willing to admit it or not, tonight was a date. Tonight would however, be different.

**xxx**

Will was looking forward to his date tonight. He wasn't entirely sure if it was really a date, but was going to treat it as such. He slipped into a black v-neck top, and tucked it into a pair of dark jeans. He chucked on his shoes and grabbed his leather jacket, before leaving to meet Rachel.

**xxx**

Rachel strolled into Perrins, a modern restaurant and club twenty minutes, (fashionably) late. As she looked around the place, she found Will already sitting at a table for two; she smiled and walked straight over to him. Once again as Will saw her, he couldn't believe how gorgeous she looked. Tonight though, she wore this sexy flare that she didn't have in the supermarket. Rachel on the other hand was surprised at how attractive she finds Will when she sees him. The other day in the supermarket he hadn't seemed too different from her memories - just his everyday self. But she'd forgotten about the times he'd dressed up. He was kind of breathtaking.

"Hey" she said, as she reached his table. "Sorry I'm late...I ah, I got caught up" she finished as she took a seat at their table.

"Don't worry about it" Will said, just happy to see her here at all.

They made their small talk, and in a moment a waiter came by to take their drink orders. Will ordered a beer, and Rachel ordered a glass of chardonnay. Rachel thought it said something about the difference in life styles they'd been living.

"So, how have you been?" Rachel asked once the waiter had left. She didn't really care, how he'd been, but in his presence, she all if a sudden couldn't think of anything to say.

"Still teaching are you?" She smugly asked. That was one of the differences between the two of them. When they new each other all those years ago, she had her whole life ahead of her, room for so many changes. But Will was beginning to settle down. Changes weren't a definite for him.

"Yes… I am, but I've been meaning to make a change. For sometime actually." he told her.

"Oh yeah? What kind of a change" Rachel asked, genuinely interested.

"Well there's this school in New York, it's a performing arts school for talented youths. I have this kind of crazy fantasy; I guess that's what you could call it, but that one day I could be a voice coach there. But who knows, I'll probably never be brazen enough to make that move. I'll probably stay in Lima forever." He told her with seriousness.

For the first time since her return to Lima, Rachel started to feel something for Will. She felt sad for him. She loved her life, and the fact that she'd made it out of Lima, well it must be kind of horrible to come back and shove it in the faces of those who never made it out. She actually began to find herself interested in what Will had to say.

"Well you'd be great at that; the kids would just love you!" Rachel told him.

As soon as the words left Rachel's lips, she remembered how much she had loved him when she was his student. Still in thought, Rachel lifted her eyes up to Will's, which told her he was thinking about the same thing. Her heart fluttered for a moment and she thought maybe she did still have feelings for him.

"I mean... they'd appreciate you more than the kids at McKinley I'm sure." She told him, correcting herself trying to look away from his knowing eyes.

"Yeah" Will replied continuing to stare at her.

"So what about you? How have things been for you?" Will asked, although for the most part he already knew.

"Honestly…things have been really great. Studying at Julliard was better then I could have imagined. I somehow managed to get into my first show, Spring Awakening; my first year out of school, and my time during that production was just indescribably amazing. It was the journey of a lifetime. I learnt so many things. Not just about my career but life in general. I was also just presented with so many opportunities from it. I got to perform at the Tonys, which had always been a dream of mine and I got to meet…"

And there Rachel was, going on and on about her life, and how great her experiences had been. She had come here to boast about her life, but she'd ended up doing something she hadn't expected. She was speaking from her heart, with utter passion; actually wanting to share her experiences and joy with Will. She hadn't anticipated that this would happen.

"I'm sorry? Am I rambling? I tend to do that often…" she asked Will.

Will couldn't answer straight away, because he was so mesmerised by her. It was clear to Will that Rachel was happy, and his only sadness was that he hadn't been a part of her happiness. Her enthusiasm and passion reminded him of the young girl he used to know. Rachel still had that same ambition she had all those years ago, but this girl was much more mature, less crazy, very intelligent, and funny even.

"You're fine." He told her smiling.

As Rachel continued to speak, Will became more and more attracted to her. Rachel told him about her friend Elsie and how much she's meant to her over the years.

"...You know I've met a lot of amazing people over the years, but Elsie… I really don't know what I would do without her. She's like a sister to me." As Rachel finished talking she felt a smile place itself across her face. The two continued to talk for a while, and slowly Rachel felt her motives for their date tonight change completely. She was attracted to him… again.

"You know if you started working at that school in New York, we'd be in the same city. We'd probably see each other from time to time." Rachel said as she continued to smile at him. Will returned her smile, which caused Rachel to nervously place her hand over his. They shared that quiet moment together for only a few seconds, before they were interrupted by the sound of Rachel's ringtone.

"Shit" Rachel exhaled, "That scared the shit out of me". Rachel reached into her purse to get her phone only to see that it was Elsie calling her. Rachel looked back up to Will's eyes to see his reaction; wanting to know if he had been as dazed as she before they were interrupted. He had been.

"Hey look, I should probably take this, sorry!" she worriedly told him.

"No worries" he said.

"What's up honey?" she said into her phone.

Through the speaker of her phone, Rachel could hear that Elsie was crying. In fact, she was so hysterical that Rachel could barely manage hear what Elsie was saying. "...fucking...cheated...I'm going to kill him..."

"Els, wait, just come down, what's wrong?" she asked looking up to catch Will's eyes, showing him her confusion.

Before she replied, Elsie let out a big breath of air, and tried to regain her composure. Finally when she was settled she managed to say, "He cheated."

"Oh Els! You're kidding me! I'll…I'll come home straight away. Fuck it I will kill him for you! What a prick!" Rachel said almost yelling, as her anger grew. Elsie had been there for her when Oliver had cheated on her, so damn it she was going to be there for Elsie. She'd almost forgotten Will was there when she looked over at him, face raging with anger, to find him looking worried for her. Seeing him there somehow relaxed her, and let her continue on calm.

"No need. I'm in Ohio, don't even ask, I just needed to get away from the city. I'm at the airport..." Elsie told her

Rachel briefly looked at her watch before telling Elsie, "I'll be there in twenty" and hanging up.

"Will, I'm really sorry. I have to go this is really important," she apologetically told Will. She really was upset about having to leave; she had really started to enjoy herself.

"Its fine Rachel, it sounded important so you should go." He replied.

"You know I was actually really enjoying myself tonight, it's... It's been really nice talking to you again." Rachel told him before placing a kiss on his cheek and softly looking at him for a moment. But then she was gone - off to solve another's problems.

**xxx**

"So then Ethan's like _Baby you know I love you, that's why we're engaged, I just wanna fuck around a bit first_."

"What? You have got to be kidding me. What an ass!" Rachel angrily exclaimed back at Elsie.

"I know and what's worse is that it wasn't even if he was asking if it was okay. He'd already been doing it for months. It makes me sick to even think about it... Ray I was going to marry him!" Elsie said breaking.

Rachel took her best friend into her arms, and let her cry against her shoulder. She wanted to tell her that everything would be okay; that what has happened is all in the past. But how could she tell her that when she's not sure if it's true. It had never really been true for her.

"You know what Els, let's forget about Ethan for tonight. I am going to go downstairs, get a huge tub of ice cream, and then _we_ are going to eat our selves senseless and watch stupid romantic comedies until we fall asleep!"

"That sounds perfect" Elsie said clearly grateful to be there with Rachel.

Elsie fell asleep, half way through their first movie. Rachel wasn't surprised, it had been a horrible ordeal for Elsie to go through. She would have been exhausted. Hell, she jumped on a plane and flew all the way out to Ohio! She really would have been exhausted. Rachel couldn't sleep though. She had too much adrenalin running though her. Her mind was fixated on _him._ She hadn't expected this to happen at all, but a smile came to her lips anyway. It could be fun, to spend some more time with Will while she was still here.

Rachel looked at Elsie's sleeping form, and decided it could be okay to leave her for a moment. She stepped out of her bedroom, into the hallway and sat up against the wall to dial Will's number. She kind of felt like a teenager, calling a guy she liked from her high school. It was probably because she hadn't spent any time in this house since she was that age.

"Hello?" Will answered into his phone.

"Hi, it's me. I mean it's Rachel" She awkwardly replied.

"Oh, hey Rach."

Rachel had to admit that hearing Will use his old nickname for her, excited her. And it made her stomach flutter.

"How is your friend?" Will asked.

"She's fine... it's kind of a long story" Rachel told him half laughing.

"Well, I've got time" Will told her only so he could keep hearing her voice.

So Rachel told him the whole story about Elsie and her boyfriend, and how so much of her friendship with Elsie had revolved around being there for each other in these kinds of situations. After an hour of chatting Rachel had almost forgotten why she had called Will the first place. If it weren't for Will thinking the exact same thing, she may have been on the phone all night, talking senselessly.

"Do you think we could see each other some time again?" he asked her.

"I think so", she told him smiling greatly. "But, I can't leave Elsie alone right now. So if we went somewhere, would you mind her tagging along?" She reluctantly asked.

"Of course not Rach. She's been such a big part of your life; I'd really like to meet her. How's tomorrow night?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Well maybe not tomorrow, I think Elsie need a little time, how's Thursday night? We can go anywhere you like."


	4. Old Times' Sake

**Old Times' Sake: Re-written**

**xxx**

When Elsie woke up the next morning she felt like she was somewhere different. She could feel the small ray of sun slipping through the curtains hit her across her bare arm. She sat up and took in her surroundings, not entirely sure of where she was. She stepped out of bed and had a look around. The room she was in looked like somewhere strawberry shortcake would live. The happenings of the night before were a blur to Elsie. All she could remember was that she had made a spur of the moment decision to get on a plane and fly to Ohio. An interesting destination for a holiday…

"Rachel's house!" she exclaimed, finally remembering where she was. She laughed as she fully took in where she was.

"Wow Rachel was such a loser, look at all this stuff". It surprised even Elsie to see just how much Rachel had grown up since the first time she met her.

_Elsie was a fairly confident, and not to mention good looking, blonde girl who could not be more excited to start her first semester at Julliard. It was something she had been dreaming of her whole life, but never had any doubt she would get in. Where she came from she was a child prodigy and everyone knew she was going to go big places. She was however, slightly anxious about meeting her new roommate, she was going to be living with this person for a year, maybe longer, and she had heard some crazy stories from her older siblings (two older brothers and an older sister)._

_Her sister had lived for a year with some crazy Goth who brought back creepy men to their dorm everyone night, and her oldest brother lived with this guy who slept with any girl he could find and ended up steeling his girlfriend, and the next year lived with a gay guy that tried to come onto him... on numerous occasions. Elsie thought that she probably wouldn't mind the latter though, not that she was a lesbian, or even bi-sexual for that matter, but she was... bi-curious you could say. The optimistic side of Elsie then kicked in and decided that maybe she'll have a really cool chick and they could become best friends, maybe. Little did she know that, that was exactly what would happen._

_She opened the door to the room that her orientation booklet told her belonged to her and a girl named Rachel Berry. Rachel was a nice name she thought. When she walked into the room she saw a semi-good looking brunette girl clearly lost in thought as she unpacked her clothes into her wardrobe. Elsie stopped for a moment to look at her. This girl's wardrobe was crazy; all she had were ugly granny sweaters and plaid skirts._Snap out of it Elsie_, she thought, she shouldn't be so judgemental, this girl could actually be really sweet, and everyone had flaws, especially her._

_"Hi I'm Elsie... You're roommate" Elsie confidently said as she held out a hand to the girl, not entirely sure whether giving the girl a hug was too overbearing. The girl looked up slightly startled and the placed a beaming smile right across her face and gave Elsie an enthusiastic hug., "Oh great, I'm so glad you here, I've been so looking forward to meeting you! I'm Rachel" The girl said with utter confidence._Wow_, was Elsie's initial thought, she immediately loved this girls confidence... who cares about her clothes and the fact she practically acts like a fifteen year old._

_Elsie laughed while letting out a sigh of relief, "Me too! I was actually a little nervous, which is funny 'cause I never get nervous... So what classes are you taking this semester? I presume you're doing a bachelor of music like me?" Elsie asked with actual interest. "Yes I am, I think they room the music students together, dance students together, drama students together etc. But um my major is voice, and then I'm taking classical ballet, jazz studies, composition, and theatre studies, how about you?"_

_"Oh my God, I'm doing jazz studies and composition too! I'm majoring in piano, but I'm doing a vocal class as a supplement, and then I have classical studies and keyboard skills. Elsie enthusiastically told her. "Fantastic! That's so great that I'll know someone in two of my classes" Rachel said smilingly._

By the end of the semester the girls were inseparable and they applied to be roommates for the following year. Rachel even transferred from classical ballet to classical studies so they would have an extra class together. And just for fun the girls joined a hip hop class out of school (even if it was against college rules).

Elsie had been day dreaming for so long that she hadn't even given herself time to wonder why the hell she was alone and where the hell Rachel was. She walked down the stairs to find Rachel without taking in her appearance first. When she reached the kitchen she found Rachel standing over the stove making pancakes. "Good morning sunshine" Rachel said with a wink, "Oh sweetie you have eye make up all over your face! Come here mummy will fix it." Rachel was known for her maternal instincts. "Oh shit I totally forgot about the crying part of last night... what would I do without you?" Elsie joked, but she really didn't know what she would do without her.

The girls sat and ate their pancakes while Rachel listened to Elsie talk. Rachel thought it was the right thing for Elsie to do; she needed to get everything out of her system, so she could move on. "Do you still love him?" Rachel asked. "No" she sullenly answered, "I haven't for a while, I think I've been lying to myself for so long, but what Ethan told me last night just awakened me. Don't get me wrong I'm not glad it happened, he's a sleaze and I don't want to ever be friends with him again." Rachel nodded and listened as she let Elsie vent. After an hour or so, Rachel spoke up "You know what we need to do? Make over our lives, we have both just been screwed by our guys; let's move on from this together, we are going to live our lives to the fullest like we always have! What do you think?" "Sounds perfect to me" Elsie smiled and Rachel and was so thankful for her friendship with Rachel.

The girl's moment was interrupted by Rachel's phone ringing. "Hello, Berry residence" Rachel answered. "Hey girly it's Quinn!"

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" Rachel cheerily asked.

"Well I would like to know how your date went last night! But firstly I would like to invite you over to dinner tonight; Puck had to cancel last night so we're having dinner at ours _tonight_ instead." Quinn happily asked.

"I'd love to but I have Elsie over at the moment, do you mind if she comes?" Rachel asked.

"Oh of course not, I haven't seen her since I was last in New York it'll be great to see her again." "Great!" Rachel exclaimed.

"So... How was the date?" Quinn persisted.

Rachel told her how she possibly did still have romantic feelings for Will, and how she had to leave the date early, and then explained everything that happened with Elsie,

"Oh the poor girl!" Quinn sympathetically answered.

"Well I better get going, lots to do over here... So I'll see you at our house at seven?"

"You sure will, see you then love."

After chatting on the phone for about twenty minutes Rachel returned to Elsie.

"Hey Els, that was Quinn, she's invited us over for dinner tonight... It's not too soon for you is it?" "Of course not Ray, I can't wait to see her and Finn again!"

"Oh and by the way, I'm meeting up with an old friend on Thursday night, you don't mind coming do you?"

**xxx**

It was almost 7.30pm when Puck exclaimed "God damn, where the fuck are they, I want to eat now! I thought Rachel was known for her punctuality." This pissed Quinn off, he had no idea what Rachel was like now, and clearly didn't seem to care about Quinn's friendship with her.

"Puck come the hell down, your stomach can wait. And besides she's better known for fashionable lateness these days anyway" She said snapping at him.

"So what's this friend of hers like anyway?" Puck asked, "Is she as crazy as Rachel? I wonder whether Rachel is just as crazy as she always was... or worse!" he mocked. Secretly though, Puck had always found her sexy in a weird way that quite frankly freaked him out. She defiantly wasn't his type.

"Nah man Elsie's pretty cool, Quinn and I have met her quite a few times, and shut up about Rachel man." Finn told Puck plainly, "And Rachel _isn't_ crazy, just wait till you see her..." Quinn almost aggressively added.

"Pfff what's that supposed to mean?" Puck slurred, rolling his eyes. Their idiotic conversation was interrupted then by the doorbell causing Quinn to rush to the door while tunefully shouting "I'll get it!"

Quinn opened the door to find Rachel and Elsie, both dressed in their finest. "Girls! Fashionably late as always" she said jokingly rolling her eyes and giving them both a hug. "Come in, come in, it's so great to see you Elsie!" As Quinn and Elsie quickly caught up on what they've been up to, Rachel strolled into the house to say hello to Finn. "Finn!" She almost screams as she ran up and gave him a hug, which was generously returned by Finn.

When Puck first sees Rachel he doesn't recognise her. He saw a beautiful looking brunette walk through the room and thought, _shit Rachel's friend looks like a fucking model. Jeez how did Rachel ever become friends with someone like that_? It wasn't until he saw an equally beautiful blonde haired girl who defiantly wasn't Rachel walking into the room chatting to Quinn that he thought _hold on..._

"Rachel long time, you look great!" Matt said in a surprising tone, interrupting Puck's thoughts. "Oh thanks, it's great to see you guys, I don't think I've seen you and Noah since high school..."She trailed off awkwardly. She looked over at Elsie and realised she hadn't introduced her yet, "Oh guys this is my friend, Elsie." Elsie smiled and waved, merely being polite. "And Noah, who is that lovely lady sitting next to you?" Puck had to snap himself out of his head; he should definitely not be having sexual thoughts about Rachel, especially with his wife sitting right next to him. "Oh yeah this is my wife Joanne..." Puck said with a certain lack of interest. "Nice to meet you" the lady coarsely said as she looked Rachel up and down. As their small group stood there for a several moments chatting Rachel noticed to things. One, Elsie was getting awfully friendly with Matt Rutherford, and Two, Puck looked angrily perplexed.

"Okay everyone take a seat, I'm going to go get drinks." Quinn told them, "Rach, Elsie, what can I get you?" "I'll have a vodka soda thanks" Rachel said, "Oh make that two" Elsie added. "Great, I'll just be a minute" Quinn said while running off happily to the kitchen with a smile on her face. _She is way too happy_, Rachel thought.

Elsie sat herself down at the end of the table with Rachel on one side and Matt on the other. Quinn sat down next to Rachel so the two could chat about the whole _Will saga_, and Finn sat down next to her. Puck was opposite Rachel, in between his wife and Matt. He couldn't stop looking at her. He hoped it wasn't obvious. It wasn't long before Puck couldn't hold himself back from talking to her. "So Rach…" he began, "I hear you're a big star now." He asked as he felt himself becoming more and more interested in this alluring woman he hardly recognised.

Rachel blushed, "Well not really..." she really didn't want to show off tonight, but before she had a chance to stop it Elsie had butted in, "Oh shut up Ray. She's so modest, she totally is. She performed at the Tonys and she's practically friends with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth..."

"Can you shut up?" Rachel said half laughing half aggressively. "We're not here to talk about me." Not being able to think of anything else to say Rachel looked around the room and hovered over Noah's wife for a moment. "So Noah, where did you two meet?" she said while smiling and looking at Joanne and Noah.

"Noah and I met in a nightclub... we hit it off right away!" Joanne told Rachel, but it seemed to Rachel that Joanne was clearly hiding something. She was also surprised that Joanne called him Noah, when everyone she knew called him Puck. The only reason she did, was because she knew it pissed him off when they were in high school, and since she'd never called him by Puck before it would be silly to start now. For the rest of the night the group chatted away (mostly about Quinn and Finn's upcoming wedding) while they ate Quinn's delicious cooking.

Quinn had asked Rachel more about how things went with Will the previous night, which Rachel was slightly embarrassed talking about in present company, so she kept her voice low. It was just before dessert when Quinn quieted everyone down to make an announcement.

"Rachel, There's something that is very important that I wasn't to ask you tonight." She started. Rachel felt nervous for some reason; Quinn was not usually so serious like this. "We've been friends for a long time, and you've seen me through some of my darkest times. It would be my honour for you to be one of my bridesmaids, if you would accept." As Quinn finished she looked nervous, and anxious to see how Rachel would react. Although it had been such along time since they'd been enemies at school, sometimes from time to time Rachel would forget how close they'd become and would have a happy feeling of 'oh yes' that amazing person is my friend. She hadn't realised Quinn treasured their friendship just as much as she did. She was astonished to be asked this of Quinn. But just as equally excited. With almost tears, she stood up to give Quinn a hug, giving her, her answer. "Of Course Q, I'm so honoured to have even be asked. I can't wait!"

**xxx**

On the car ride home Rachel was anxiously hoping Elsie wouldn't question her about Matt, just as they have always done when they've found a new man. But unluckily for Rachel, a few minutes into the drive home it started. "So tell me about Matt." Elsie very unsubtly said.

"Well what do you want to know?" Rachel replied while trying not to look pissed off. "Well... everything" Elsie said sort of excitedly. So Rachel did... tell her everything she knew about Matt, which admittedly wasn't much. She really must have been living under a rock during high school she thought. But then she reconsidered and realised that she was so obsessed with a certain Will Scheuster during high school it was no wonder she didn't know much about everyone else.

"Look…Els" Rachel firmly said "I saw the way you were looking at him tonight; you have to promise me you're not just going to use him as a rebound."

"You know me too well Ray" Elsie replied, "But don't worry its different this time, I really like him and honestly... I barely thought about Ethan all night"

"Okay" Rachel said smirking at the beautiful blonde in the car with her.

A moment passed where neither girl spoke and there was silence in the car. This was rare for these two girls. Elsie's mind however, was not silent. She was trying to find the right way to broach a certain subject. After deciding there was no right way to broach _this_ subject she decided to just say it plainly.

"Hey Ray... did you happen to see the way that Noah/Puck guy was looking at you?"

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked dumbfounded.

"Oh Ray you are so oblivious. He was staring at you _all_ night. I thought he was going to jump across the table rip your clothes off right in front of everyone" Elsie told her laughing.

"Are you serious?" Rachel rhetorically asked.

"Oh yeah... I'm fully serious. I don't know what you want to do about it but the way I see it you have two options." Elsie seriously said.

"Oh really..." Rachel pushed sarcastically.

Elsie had always had strange little theories and ideas that sometimes applied really well to the situation, but a lot of the time were just plain ridiculous. That was something Rachel loved most about her. "Yes. You can either do your best not to see him again so you don't have sex with a married man... or you fuck him." Rachel nearly lost control of the car "Elsie are you kidding me!" Rachel yelled.

"Come on Ray, when was the last time you had sex?" Shit. Rachel couldn't remember the last time, but one line Rachel would never cross was sleeping with a married man. At least that's what she told herself.

**xxx**

Wednesday brought Rachel and Elsie to the gym. Rachel being the fitness psycho she was, found the place on her morning run and decided the two girls should go. Rachel clearly hadn't always been this into keeping fit; she had started to work out to keep her shape for Chicago and had become obsessed; now it was a ritual. She also found that keeping fit did wonders for her vocal chords (and sex life).

"Oh my God I'm exhausted, how are you still running? You're a machine Ray!" Elsie cried as she sluggishly stepped of her own treadmill. "Ha-ha" Rachel laughed "Okay I'm done lets go have a shower!" Rachel said without showing any sign of exhaustion.

As the two girls walked towards the changing room Rachel saw _him_. He looked amazing. He had a tight black tank top and black running shorts on. Rachel had almost forgotten how damn sexy he was. She was desperately hoping he wouldn't see her so she wouldn't have to face him looking all sweaty in her gym gear. But Will did see her; in fact he'd seen her before she saw him. She was on the treadmill; her hair was pulled back which Will thought gave her face a really beautiful shape. She was dressed in serious exercise gear which gave Will the impression that she worked out a lot. She had this look of focus on her face yet somehow still seemed so relaxed. It impressed Will to see how hard she was working out; he had never remembered Rachel doing any type of physical activity in high school. This was just another example to Will how much the Rachel he knew had changed, but he could still see that same girl in there... somewhere.

As Will saw Rachel walking with a girl he presumed to be Elsie walking in his direction, he wasn't sure whether he should say hello or not. He decided he should. As Rachel approached him they two of them started at each other. "Hello Rachel" Will softly said as he looked from Rachel to Elsie. Rachel couldn't even manage to say hello, all she could do was smile. All of a sudden she felt like that young teenager all over again, totally mesmerised by him. She noticed Will looking at Elsie and realised they had never met. "This is my friend, Elsie" Rachel awkwardly told him. It took Elsie a moment to work out where she'd seen this man standing before her, but soon enough it hit her. "Oh my God! He's the sexy guy we saw in that club all those years ago" Elsie said breaking the awkward silence. She then realised that Rachel had a really awkward history with this man and thought perhaps she should leave them alone to chat before she made things any more awkward. "Hey I have to make a call, I'll see you in the change room in a bit." Elsie said as she walked off.

Rachel stood there embarrassed, having no idea what to say. She really hoped to God that Will wouldn't ask her anything about it. But he did. "What is she talking about?" He asked confused. Well that was it. He'd asked her, so she thought she might as well tell him.

"I...I did see you. " she said almost grimacing. "It was about a year after I graduated." She made sure she didn't look at his face she didn't want to see his reaction. Will gave out a confused laugh and asked, "Well, why didn't you say hello?" Rachel gave out her answer after numerous pauses; "Seriously? After everything that happened... I mean I'm not that nervous little girl anymore but back then... I didn't think you'd want to see me. That was pretty much the last time I thought of you since last Sunday" She lied, there had been more than a few moments that she'd spent thinking of him.

"You're wrong" Will said as he closed his eyes,

"I am?" Rachel queried.

Of course she was wrong Will thought, "I would have loved to have seen you, I've thought about you many times." He told her. Rachel smiled at this, but she needed to get out of here, this wasn't a discussion she really wanted to have. She had tried to forget the past for so long, and it was coming back to her all too quickly.

"Well I should go find Elsie, I'll see you on Thursday right? You still have to tell me where we're going"

"Oh yeah, I was thinking that new club downtown called Marleys?" Will told her

"Great. See you there."

**xxx**

Early on Thursday night, Rachel and Elsie began getting dressed for their night out. It's different for Rachel this time. The last time she got dressed for Will, there was a lot of thought and planning put into it. This time however she was more relaxed. With Elsie there she felt safer but she was also more looking forward to see Will than last time. This time it wouldn't be about showing off. Before the girls left they gave themselves a quick look in the mirror. Rachel was wearing a funky, colourful sleeveless dress with a high neck and Elsie wore a sexy little black dress.

"Damn we look fine" Elsie said giving Rachel a wink. Rachel laughed but she had to wonder, why was Elsie dressed in such a seductive manner?

"Well you definitely look sexy..." Rachel said "...Who are you trying to impress?" she queried.

"No one" Elsie answered trying to hide the tiny smirk forming across her lips, but Rachel had seen it. "Els...?" Rachel questioned.

"Okay well I kind of invited Matt...please don't kill me!" Elsie nervously answered her. Rachel wasn't upset or mad though. She was happy, because the thought of having some time alone with Will made her feel particularly excited.

When Will sees Rachel walk into the club he immediately takes in her appearance. She looks stunning just like she did last time, but now she looks less severe, lighter and happier. The two girls reach Will shortly after he first sees them and the three of them chat for a few minutes. It isn't long before Will understands how the two girls became friends. Although Elsie is very different to the girl Rachel was in high school, she has that exact same ambitious flame and confidence that Rachel always had.

When Matt shows up Elsie gives her goodbyes and tells them Matt is taking her somewhere else. Rachel hadn't realised they were going to leave and now she's slightly nervous to be completely alone with Will. Elsie felt a little mean for not telling Rachel she was going to leave her alone, so she sent her best friend a quick text.

_Thought you two should have some alone time. I'll see you later._

It doesn't take Will long to get stuck right into conversation and to Rachel's surprise it isn't really all that awkward. In fact she is amazed at how well she can settle back into conversation with him like old times.

"So where were we last time, before we were interrupted I mean?" Will asked knowing exactly where the conversation had been left; with Rachel's hand on his.

"I'm not really sure" Rachel answered with a lie.

"Yesterday you said you were too nervous to talk to me after everything that happened" Will said, trying to push the subject. There went Rachel's newly found positivity for the night. "That was ages ago" Rachel sourly answered looking away from his face.

Will could tell Rachel was nervous about talking on this subject, but it had been enough time and whether they were still attracted to each other or not it was something they needed to talk about. "Well I thought... Ah well... Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

"What's there to say? I was a stupid embarrassing adolescent who had a crush on her teacher..." Rachel trailed off, and even though she was really nervous, she was glad this conversation was coming up, after all these years.

"It wasn't just a crush Rach, you know that. And you weren't embarrassing, I was. I was just in love with you as you were with me, and I'm the one who acted like a fool I should have known better." Will said. Will Waited for Rachel to to say something but she couldn't. She hadn't noticed the tear that had slipped from her eye until she felt Will's hand brush it away from her cheek. "I guess I forgot how much you mean to me" she told him and gave a small smile.

Will took Rachel's hand and led her down to the dance floor. "Come on" he said at her reluctance, for old times' sake" he said. Rachel danced close into him not losing his eye contact once; she could feel herself becoming very aroused by him, and it scared her slightly. All of a sudden they were kissing and it was passionate and hot and it made Rachel feel like she hadn't in the longest amount of time. As their kiss ended, Will brought his hands to the side of face, cherishing her, and never wanting this night to end.

**xxx**

Elsie was making coffee in the kitchen when Rachel got home. Her father's were already asleep, which made her sad. She had had such a special night but felt like she hadn't spend enough time with them since she'd come back to Lima. She was however eager to see if Elsie's night has been as wonderful as hers.

"Hey you" Elsie said smiling. It was apparent that her night had, in fact gone very well. Elsie poured them both a cup of coffee and began the intricate relay of her night. Matt had shown her around Lima, and as they walked from place to place he held her hand in his. When he dropped her home for the night, he'd given her a kiss on the doorstep and asked when he could see her again.

"And when did you tell him you'd be seeing him again?" Rachel asked.

'**Tomorrow morning. Hope you don't mind?"**********

"Of course not. I have to say, I never imagined you with a guy from high school. But I guess they've all changed so much. As have I." Rachel told her, which to anyone else might have sounded like criticism but to Elsie she knew Rachel meant she was happy for her.

Elsie couldn't help but laugh, she really did love Rachel. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, now are you going to tell me about your night or not?". She pushily asked. And Rachel did.

**xxx**

_They're naked in_his_bed, and he's running his hands across every inch of her body. All of a sudden he's thrusting inside of her and she can feel him so strongly._

She almost thinks it's real. She wakes herself up from her dream as she moans. As she takes in her surroundings she notices her hand between her thighs and thanks God that Elsie is sleeping in the spare room. Before she goes back to sleep she looks over at her clock, which reads 4.32_am._


	5. Moments

Well Hey There - long time no update. I know! I'm a horrible person! But I'm franticially busy with my VCE, which thankfully is almost over!

So why did I update? I was bored of studying, and also the return of Glee in season 2 inspired me. Yay! How awesome was Heather Morris doing Brittany!

Oh and also just a little side note, some of you messaged me about spelling errors... I'm Australian and that is the way we spell it here, so I'm sorry but you'll have to put up with it.

**So just a little warning: This chapter is pretty long, so, grab a snack, grab a coffee, and enjoy!**

**

* * *

Moments**

_She moved her hand up his leg towards his groin._

_It reminded him of a moment they shared in his office at McKinley years ago. Only this time it was okay, this time it was allowed, this time she could keep going, this time her hand could keep moving up his thigh. _

_She moved onto his lap and pressed her hot lips into his neck. God she felt good on him. She grinded herself into him, his pulsating length becoming more and more aroused. Her hands were all over him, everywhere, he didn't understand how she could touch him in so many places at the one time. He wanted to touch her, touch her everywhere; and he could. _

_All of a sudden they were removing their clothes, and they couldn't get them off quick enough. He wasn't sure he could handle this foreplay any longer; he needed her now. He'd imagined and dreamt of this moment for years and now... it was finally going to happen_.

_They were on his bed; she was lying underneath him naked. God she was beautiful he thought. He moved his body to thrust himself insider her..._

...And then he woke up. He'd just had a sex dream, it wasn't real. Oh this wasn't Will's first sex dream, especially not his first with Rachel, so it wasn't such a huge deal. The truth was Will had imagined sleeping Rachel for years; numerous times and in numerous settings. There was something about Rachel, she was luminescent; you could never get her out of your mind. It was like she'd left a trail behind her. And once again he didn't get to have her, _why did his dream have to finish so soon?_ He rhetorically asked his mind.

Thinking it was around seven in the morning Will begrudgingly slung himself out of his bed. He walked down his stairs ready to make his breakfast and start the day. Not until he'd reached the bottom of the stairs did he look at his watch and realise that it was actually around 4.30 in the morning. Annoyed that he had to walk all the way back up the stairs Will went back to bed.

When Will woke up for the second time on this Friday morning, he thanked God that it was a public holiday. This presented many opportunities. Firstly it meant he didn't have to go to work, which was always a plus. It wasn't that he didn't love his job, because he did, he really loved working with his students. However after a while he did get tired of dealing with all the ridiculous school politics. Besides this there was the obvious, who didn't love having a day off work? A day to do whatever he wanted.

Having the day off also meant there was a possibility of him seeing Rachel today. Their 'date' had gone so much better than he had expected, and from their kiss, Will could tell that Rachel wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Will left for his morning run after breakfast as he usually did when he had a day off. He couldn't get Rachel out of his head his entire run. His mind was so fixed on her that he barely noticed it when he'd got to the end of his run.

When he'd seen her in the supermarket that day, the day Rachel Berry walked back into his life, his world was turned around. In the years since Rachel had graduated from school, his life had seemed pretty dull. It wasn't like he was a lonely love sick puppy, but he'd missed the spark of life Rachel carried with her everywhere she went. And now she was back in his life. He wasn't going to let her go this time. This time the timing is right, she's not his student, he hasn't just got divorced and she's been able to have experiences in her life.

He couldn't believe that even with the amazing things Rachel had done with her life, and all the dreams she'd aspired to she'd made come true, she could still be interested in him. She'd turned into such a beautiful _woman_ - he couldn't get her stunning and entrancing face out of his mind. And she was his, well almost.

This was finally it, Rachel Berry could be his.

A little while later in the morning Will received a phone call from Finn Hudson. He'd been sitting on his couch as he'd was just finishing a reading a book he'd been reading for a while now which was actually enthralling him too much. He reached over to grab his phone of the coffee table, and was slight surprised to see Finn Hudson's name on his receiver, but he answered his phone none the less.

Casually Will spoke into his phone and said "Hi Finn, how are things?"

"Hey Schue, what are you doing later today?" Finn asked getting straight to the point.

"So far... enjoying my day off Finn. Why what's going on?" Will couldn't help but admit he was wondering why Finn would be asking what he was doing today. Sure Finn had helped him out with the Glee club a few times over the years, and as a result kept he'd had kept in touch with Finn and Quinn, but it wasn't as if they were in the same social crowd, or like they ever caught up for impromptu get togethers.

"Puck's having a barbeque / gathering thing today. It's mostly just Puck throwing a gathering for the sake of it and heaps of Joanne's friends will be there but the old glee gang is all going to be there so it'll sort of be a bit of a reunion. I think it should be pretty fun, and hey it's not a glee reunion without the person who made having a glee club possible in the first place, right? So will you pleasure us with your presence?"

Will had to think about it for a moment before he answered. He was actually looking forward to have a nice day of relaxation. Perhaps start a new book, go for a walk, and wasn't really that exited about hanging out with a group of people he didn't really know at all, but then he thought...Glee reunion, Rachel was in glee, she'll probably be there. Well that pretty much made up his mind for him. "Sure Finn, I'll try my best to make it."

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Rachel woke up on this same Friday morning she almost forgot about her dream of the "sex": variety that woke her up at around 4.30 in the night (morning?) just passed.

For some reason Rachel felt good this morning. There was something about the way the sunlight was able to brighten her bedroom, simply by slipping through the sides of her curtains which were shut, and the way even though she'd killed herself at the gym yesterday her legs didn't even feel sore and she didn't even feel tired. She could feel that today was going to be a good day. But she was wrong.

So it wasn't until she got into a nice warm shower that she remembered her sex dream from the night before. '_Holy shit'_ she thought out loud. Rachel needed to do some serious thinking. She had absolutely no idea how she felt about Will. By the time the water spurting out from her shower head started coming out cold (which must have been a long time because her dads had installed a really superior, sophisticated and high-tech, hot water system) she still hadn't come to any sort of conclusion about Will.

Whilst stumbling across her bedroom looking for something to chuck on, Rachel heard the sound of her phone's message alert going off.

Reaching for her phone she saw a person's name that she wasn't expecting or _wanting_ to see, Oliver. Great what a way to ruin what seemed like was going to be a perfect day, she thought. She definitely did not want to hear anything that, that _prick_ had to say. She hadn't even realised she still had his number in her phone. That would defiantly be deleted. Was there a way she could block his number? She wondered.

_Rachel, stop being a shit and take home all your crap that you've left at my place. I'm throwing it out if you don't. It's pissing Nina off._

_Well great_, Rachel thought. Nina. The bitch he'd cheated on her with. _There still together?_ She thought, she was actually quite surprised. She as actually quite hurt, not that she'd admit it. To say the least it wasn't really what Rachel was expecting to hear from Oliver – if at all. She thought maybe he'd be begging for forgiveness or to talk to her, or maybe even a casual sorry so they could move on from things.

Thinking of Oliver brought back bad memories for Rachel. It wasn't that he'd sent her a bitchy text that bothered her, because she was completely done with him and wouldn't even consider going back to him. What her problem was she was dumbfounded as to how she got herself involved with someone like him. If she thought about it seriously she really did have pathetic taste in men. Rachel really wasn't ready to get involved with anyone else right now, at least not emotionally. Sexually she didn't give a shit.

This made Rachel think about Will.

There was no doubting that she and Will had a sexual attraction towards each other. Even though she'd thought he was gorgeous back when she was in high school, it was nothing to how amazing he looked now; he was much more manly and sexy looking. The way he made her heart jump when she saw him was unexplainable. But there was another side to this romance. She knew that even though he wasn't her teacher anymore, and even though he never really seemed like a teacher to her (more like a friend) it seemed kind of wrong to date someone who was a teacher at your school while you went there. She didn't want to think about what people would say. She didn't want to know what people who think about her.

She also had to consider the fact that in a short amount of time she would be moving back to New York and resuming her life there. The life she had worked so hard to build. A life she loved. With all her beautiful city friends, _that's all a girl needs right?_ She thought. New York loved her, and she loved it.

Rachel definitely wasn't ready for a relationship right now. Oliver's text had just reminded her of how careful she needed to be. She wasn't going to let herself get hurt again. It was at that moment that she decided she wasn't going to pursue anything with Will any further; it was a useless waste of her time. Denying her true feelings for Will, Rachel decided that simply not pursuing Will wasn't enough. At all costs she was going to refrain from engaging in conversation with Will – most particularly the conversations of the one on one variety.

After Rachel _eventually_ made a decision about Will, her Dads had already left for work. She trotted down stairs to find a perky looking Elsie sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in hand. The girl was clearly still quite ecstatic with how things with Matt went last night. She'd have to discuss this further with her later.

"Good morning my little Ray of sunlight, I have news" Elsie enthusiastically greeted her.

"Oh yeah... what's that babes?" Rachel asked laughingly. God there was something special about Elsie's smile and how she could immediately bring Rachel out of her sombre mood. Also, she was actually kind of interested in what news Elsie had. Elsie could only have been up for an hour or so, so what more news could she have since they'd spoken last night.

"We are going to brunch with Quinn."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Somehow Rachel and Elsie managed to get themselves out of the house and to the café they were meeting Quinn at within 20 minutes. Needless to say there were early - they had slightly over budgeted for time.

They were meeting at this cute little café called Mr Fox. The entire place reminded Rachel of Quinn, classy, elegant, and sweet – no wonder Quinn had asked them to meet her here. Elsie was actually glad to be there before Quinn because it gave her a chance to discuss her plans for the rest of the summer with Rachel.

"I think I'm going to stay in a hotel for the rest of my stay in Ohio Ray" Elsie told her.

"What are you talking about? You're more than welcome at mine, there's no point in you paying for a hotel when you're only going to be here for a little while. Beside I like having you around with me." Rachel told her.

"Well actually... I was thinking maybe instead of going home and then flying back for the wedding, that I'd maybe just stay longer actually. Not that I mean to get in the way, 'cause I know I'm kind of crashing in on your town but things have died down slightly on my record label, so there's not really any need for me to be there right now, and I can write music anywhere right? And besides things are sort of going well with Matt, I like being around him, he's so great, I haven't even thought about Ethan in days and even though we won't be staying together we'll still be together like the entire time I'm here, and I think I need to let you have some of your down time, you know like how you have things going on with you and Will and everything, and also I think I need to have a little private space, you know just to fully clear my head and get over that bastard Ethan..."

"Elsie hunny shut the hell up your rambling." Rachel laughingly told her best friend before continuing "Okay firstly, I'm majorly glad you're staying here, it will be great, and I'm happy for you and Matt, but we'll talk about that later. Maybe staying in a hotel is a good idea we can both clear our heads, and straighten up our lives."

The two girls just sat there for a moment smiling at each other. Their friendship truly was a wonder. They were different in so many aspects of their life, but somehow they understood each other perfectly, like their minds were in sync with each other. Elsie had once pondered the idea that if they were both lesbians, they would make a really excellent couple. Maybe if in ten years time neither of them had found someone, they'd elope together and pretend they were lesbians. Hmm she'd discuss it with Rachel later she thought. Before she could let any more crazy thoughts enter her head she saw Quinn coming through the entrance of the café.

"Look there's Quinn" Elsie said to Rachel as she nudged her arm with her own, "Over here Quinn "she yelled, luckily the café was quite packed so the sounds of other people's conversations covered most of the sound of her yell. Otherwise Elsie thought, she would have been embarrassed.

"Hi Girls" Quinn said smiling as she did a girly little run over to the table they were sitting at and sat down next to Rachel.

The three girls enjoyed their morning get together chatting away. In the short time that Elsie had been in Lima with Rachel, Quinn and Elsie had really gotten a lot closer, and the three girls had formed a really tight nit friendship group. Everything was going well until Quinn insisted on finding out how Rachel's date had gone with Will. Honestly she didn't even remember telling Quinn she had a date with him last night, but everything was a bit of a blur today so she probably had.

_Okay Focus_, she thought, _you don't actually have real feelings for Will so there's no big deal you don't have to lie just tell them everything except for the kiss... wait Elsie already knows...damn. Oh and don't mention the sex dream!_

"So come on I want the details sweetie!" Quinn encouragingly pushed.

"Oh yeah it was okay." Rachel replied. Quinn and Elsie looked each other slightly confused. They thought they might get a little more out of Rachel. This was Rachel Berry after all; one of the most enthusiastic and passionate girls they knew. Rachel was always ready to spill her beans. Well usually anyway, apparently not today.

_Change the subject quickly,_ Rachel thought. "Hey, so what's up with Noah and his wife? I don't mean to pry but something seemed iffy about them." She asked.

"Oh well yeah there's more than a few things iffy about their relationship. Mostly everyone knows by now, it's not a big secret, not so sure why he didn't tell you but, he knocked her up, wanted to do the right thing and married her" Quinn told her, "Not like he did for me, prick..." she muttered to herself.

Elsie was shocked to hear Quinn say the word 'prick' but then realised she'd better get herself settled into her hotel before seeing Matt later. This meant that she should probably ditch the girl catch up for the moment.

"Well girls I have to love you and leave you so I can move into the hotel before lunch time." Elsie told them.

"You're moving today?" Rachel asked surprised, she wasn't expecting Elsie to be moving out so soon. She was however, actually quite comforted to know that she would have some alone time at last when she got home, other than the time she'd spent alone in her morning bathroom/bedroom time.

"Yes, I think its best. I'll call you later. Bye girls" Elsie said to the two girls as she walked away from their table and out of the café.

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After Elsie left, Quinn and Rachel decided that they would stick around a little while longer and catch up on thing's that had been going on with each of them since they'd last chatted, so they ordered another coffee. You can never have enough coffee – this was a life moral Rachel lived by.

During a slight pause in their conversation Quinn started to wonder why Rachel was so interested in Puck's relationship with his wife. But then, _oh no_,she thought, is Rachel interested in him she wondered. She had definitely noticed Puck looking at Rachel the other night as if she was a piece of meat or something. She really hoped that Rachel wasn't sexually interested in Puck, because she knows Puck as cheated before, and defiantly would again. Not with Rachel she hoped.

How is exactly did she know these secret details of Puck's life? Well, the two had actually formed a fairly close relationship over the years. The girl they created together, the girl they never got to properly meet, had left a hole in both of their hearts. It created a bond between the two, one that couldn't be broken.

It had turned into more than just the fact they made a child together though. The two were able to tell each other things and not be judged. This was because they'd already gone through so much together (and not together) in high school so that neither of them would dare judge the other. She wasn't happy with a lot of the things that Puck did, but she put up with it. One thing she would not put up with though was Puck doing anything with Rachel that would hurt her.

No one would ever say it in words, but Puck was probably closer with Quinn than he was with Finn these days.

"So why'd you want to know about Puck and Joanne?" Quinn asked.

"No reason really. Elsie told me he was looking at me funny the other night, which actually kind of crepes me out. I dunno something just seemed weird. Like for instance Joanne was giving me the dirtiest looks all night, as if I was going to still her husband away from her or something" Rachel told her. It was true that Rachel was a little creped out by the fact that Puck had been looking at her all night, but it also kind of turned her on – in a strange way.

One hundred percent relieved that Rachel was interested; Quinn smiled and told Rachel without hesitation, "Yeah Joanne can be hard to deal with, but we put up with her. Hey by the way Puck's throwing a Barbeque today and you are coming. I'd tell you to bring Elsie but I'm fairly certain Matt's already planning on taking her"

Rachel thought this was a good idea. Even though she's not crazy at the thought of being around Noah'; she doesn't really trust him, or herself for that matter. But it'll be fun to socialise and see some of the old kids from glee again.

"Oh and Will be there" Quinn said with a wink.

_Damn_, Rachel thought.

After concluding her lovely brunch with Quinn, Rachel raced home to get ready for Puck's barbeque. She rummaged through her wardrobe to find something to wear, but nothing seemed right, she had to look perfect. Suddenly Rachel snapped out of it and thought _holy shit_, when had she become so superficial? Who was she trying to dress up for anyway she wondered?

Not Will, definitely not Will.

Rachel needed to calm down, and quit this stupid act. She pulled out a white shirt and some black shorts and that was that. This was what she was going to wear today. Rachel looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. It felt good to be herself.

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When Rachel entered Puck's house she saw a lot of faces, many of them she'd never seen before but there were the few sprinkled around the place that she recognised. As she walked further into the house all she could think was, _don't look for will, don't look for will, don't look for will. Crap,_ She'd spotted him. _Walk in the other direction Rachel,_ she thought. Thankfully she spotted Quinn and latched onto her as quickly as she could.

Rachel managed to have a chat with most of the old kids from Glee, apparently Kurt was moving to New York with her fashion, which really exited her and they promised to catch up for coffee when he was there. Mercedes had made a conscious decision to lose weight and things were going well so far. When Rachel was chatting away with Tina and Mike, who she'd just found out were dating, _exiting_ she thought, she noticed Will walking in her direction. "Drink anyone?" she asked whilst walking off to the kitchen to 'get a drink'.

When Rachel was in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of punch, she felt someone's hands grasp her around her waist and a hot pair of lips kiss her neck. _ Will...damn_ she immediately thought. **Wrong**.

When Rachel turned around she was met with a pair of eyes she wasn't expecting to see."Noah?" she asked laughing, "I thought you were...ah never mind." Realising that Noah was a married man, and she should be totally creped out even if he was kind of sexy, Rachel threw Noah's hands off her and shouted at him "What the fuck do you think you're doing Puckerman?" emphasising the word Puck, which she never used.

"And she swears too. Jeez Berry you really have changed" Puck said.

_Not really, I'm still the same old insecure girl you used to know._ Rachel thought.

"You're married loser" Rachel said laughing, as she swiped her index finger down is chest. Hey don't judge, there's no law against messing around with a married man and she couldn't deny that it was fun to fool around with Noah. "Oh baby, don't tease me like that." Puck said as Rachel dropped her head into his chest laughing. Their laughing ceased when they heard a familiar voice shout.

"What the fuck?"

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Will had spotted Rachel mere seconds after she'd seen him. He smiled as he was about to walk over to her. He got a strange feeling in his stomach when Rachel walked in the opposite direction to him. She had seen him hadn't she? he thought. He couldn't seem to find her throughout most of the day it was as if she didn't want to see him. Was it possible this was all just in his head? He thought

After a fair amount of time Will finally spotted Rachel chatting away with Tina and Mike. Perfect he thought, she was clearly deep in discussion and wouldn't be able to avoid him. If that is what she's doing anyway? But he was wrong, Rachel did walk away. _What the hell, _Will thought. She defiantly had seen him this time. She'd turned her face towards him as he walked towards her and walked off. And, without any sort of recognition of him in her face or body at all. Slightly worried, Will went to follow Rachel into the kitchen, but was pulled away by a very chatty Kurt Hummel wanting to know how he was.

After having a quick hello with Kurt, and learning that Kurt was apparently moving to New York as his fashion designs were really starting to take off, Will politely told Kurt he'd finish talking to him later but he had to 'call' someone.

Weaving through the crowd of people in the house, Will finally made his way to the kitchen; unfortunately he did not like what he saw once he got there. Rachel hands _on_ Puck's chest, her head leaning into his shoulder and the two of them laughing together in what looked like a very flirtatious manner.

"What the fuck?" He shouted at the two of them. Rachel whipped her head around immediately to see Will, but she didn't look ashamed or apologetic at all. Instead she furrowed her brow and with a cynical laugh asked "Jeez, calm down Will."

"Calm down?" Will asked astonished at Rachel's lack of understanding of what she was doing, "What the hell is this Rachel? What's wrong with you, you're flirting with a married man. What about us?" Rachel looked from Will to Noah, who had stayed silent. When she looked back at Will he'd already turned her back on them and was walking away from the party.

Rachel ran after Will, upset that she'd hurt his feelings. She managed to catch up to Will right before he got to his car.

"Will wait a second. Why'd you get so angry back there? I've never even heard you swear before." For the first time since she'd been back in Lima Ohio Rachel realised that there'd probably been a lot of things change in Will's life since she knew him; she wasn't the only one who'd had a life the past ten years. This made Rachel further support her idea that she wasn't right to be in a relationship with Will.

"Rachel, I...I don't get it, last night was so perfect. What happened between now and last night?"

"Nothing..." _I got a text from my ex boyfriend who I'm still not really over and it really freaked me out about emotionally attaching myself to someone else right now because I'm scared you'll hurt me and I don't want to attachment myself to you when there's a possibility that it won't work out._

If only that was what Rachel had been thinking, then she herself would actually understand her actions at this moment. Realising that Will was clearly waiting for her to give him more information she decided to say it straight.

"Look Will last night was nice, but kissing you was a mistake. I don't want to be romantically involved with you..."

Rachel didn't mean to cause Will any pain, the person she was hurting the most was herself anyway, by not being able to come to terms with the way Oliver had affected her. It really stung for Will to hear Rachel say that to him. Her return to Ohio had been exiting for him; it meant his boring life which he was sick of, was going to change; well he'd hoped.

"Okay" he said as he opened his car door and got in.

"Wait Will, can't we be friends?" Rachel asked.

"Well I guess that's up to you since you clearly make all the decisions when it comes to us."

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Rachel stood standing on the footpath for at least fifteen minutes after Will had driven away from her. She was mad, mad at Will. What had he meant by "she was the one making all the decisions". He was the one in the beginning ten years ago that decided they she couldn't be together with him and now he's the one pissed off they she won't be with _him_.

Irritated, Rachel went to her car and drove away from Noah's house. She felt bad for leaving without saying goodbye, especially since she hadn't even seen Elsie. She had actually really wanted an update on how things were with Matt. But Rachel was too angry to be seriously worried about it. So she left.

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Meanwhile back at the barbeque Puck was left wondering what the hell had just happened. So yeah he admitted that he was flirting with Rachel, but so what? And why was Schue. so pissed off? Confused about what had just happened he walked back out to the living room to find Quinn.

"Hey Q" Puck smiled as he gave his favourite person of the opposite sex a hug, Yes it was true Puck preferred Quinn to his wife, not sexually, but as a human being...yes. "Oh hey Puck, I'm having a great time, I'm glad you invited all the old guys from glee." Quinn told him

"Yeah by the way, speaking of that. What's up with Rachel and Schue? I think they just got into some big fight, it was weird actually. Why'd you guys want him to come again? That was kind of random too." He asked.

Quinn huffed, not sure whether she should tell Puck about Rachel and Will or not, but she decided it might help keep Puck away from Rachel so she did. "Okay don't tell anyone this, and I mean it, I'll find out if you do, and you don't even want to know what I'll do to you if you do...but Rachel and Will are...romantically involved. It's kind of really complicated and their still sorting things out. So I'd appreciate it if you kept away. Is that clear?"

"Sure babe. Now let's go over there and chat with clueless fiancée."

"Shut up, he's my sweetie."

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Saturday night found Rachel home alone in her bedroom and wanting to find something to do to clear her mind. She'd spent the whole day at the mall with her dad's looking for new curtains for their house. She didn't know why they wanted to replace all the curtains in their house; she actually liked the ones they currently had. But it didn't matter because it helped her keep her mind off of..._him._

Rachel decided she needed a drink. Tonight, she was going to go out and she was going to have fun. Pulling on a body hugging red dress, and red stiletto's Rachel marched down the stairs to tell her dad's she was going out with "Elsie" and might stay at her hotel later, she wasn't sure. If Rachel planned it right, she'd be spending the night with someone...of the opposite sex.

Her dads were a little shocked at out what Rachel was wearing, her outfit was very revealing, but they kissed her goodbye and told her to have a good night, respecting the fact that she was now an adult and not their little baby girl.

A half an hour later Rachel was sitting at a table, alone, at Perrins, the same place she'd gone on her first "date" with Will, downing her second Cosmopolitan. The reason she'd gone to Perrins was because it was the only half-decent place in Lima that sold alcohol, and played good music to dance to. It had nothing to do with the fact she enjoyed her time here with Will, at least that's what she told herself.

Rachel was slightly caught off guard when she saw Noah walk into the club, alone. Rachel walked over to him smiling to say hello. "Well hello Mr Puckerman. What are you doing here?" Puck didn't even recognise her at first. She looked fucking amazing; he hadn't seen someone so damn sexy in a long time. He was glad he'd decided to come out while Joanne was away on a business weekend.

"Well well well Berry, you're looking mighty fine tonight. Well I'm just here to get some drinks in me and have a good time with some lovely people of course" He told her.

"Well I'm a lovely person Noah, and I want to get some drinks in me too. How about we do it together?" Rachel said with a wink. So she hadn't expected to see Noah here, but she was planning on being with someone (anyone) tonight and she was very sexually attracted to Noah. Rachel purposely chose to forget the fact that Noah was actually married.

After a fair few more drinks, and a few hands touching here and there, Rachel noticed Noah's hand lingering on her inner thigh as he continued to move it upwards. With one look in the eye Rachel decided she wanted him, and right away. Rachel leant over and passionately kissed Noah right on the lips, she didn't know what she was doing but she needed the feel of a man's touch on her, all over her.

"Let's get out of here" Rachel said.

"My house" Puck told her.

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Puck and Rachel entered his house in a chaotic mess. Item's of clothes being flung everywhere, hands moving everywhere, lips touching _everywhere_. Puck picked Rachel up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist. While thrusting his hands up down the legs of Rachel's body now only covered in her underwear Puck carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

Rachel couldn't get enough of the feel of his hands on her; it'd been so long since she'd been intimate with someone. She needed more. She pushed Puck down unto the bed and climbed on top of him. Puck threw himself out of his shirt whilst Rachel fumbled with his belt, finally removing it and unzipping his jeans.

Puck tossed Rachel onto her back and pulled his jeans off before forcing himself back down on her and passionately kissing her lips, across her neck and down her stomach. Sick of the teasing Rachel seductively whispered in Puck's ear "I want you now". That was all it took. Before they knew it they were both naked and Puck was thrusting himself inside her, Rachel let out a long awaited moan, finally, this was what she needed. The two roughly moved against each both wanting and needing each other as much the other.

Rachel was in ecstasy, but something didn't feel right. Their bodies moved roughly against each other, but they didn't move in harmony. Why did she wish that sharing this _moment_ with Will right now and not with Puck? She had been wrong. She did want Will.

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Rachel woke up the next morning next to a snoring and very unconscious looking Puck. What had she done? She was so angry at herself for sleeping with Puck. She'd had way too much to drink last night. She needed to see Will's reassuring face right now, but the only face her mind would let her see was the disappointed look that covered his face after she had rejected him.

She was so wrong. She had to get out of here now.

Rachel stumbled across Puck's house looking for her clothes. When Rachel found the last article of her clothing, she heard Puck wake, and walk down the stairs. _Crap_ she thought, she'd wanted to make her exit before he woke.

"Hi" she said.

"Hey" Puck winked.

Rachel took in Puck's appearance; he looked like sex on a stick. Realising she was overtly staring at his abs and Puck had noticed, Rachel searched for her words that seemed to be lost. "Well I have to get going, but look about last night... let's keep it a secret right?" she said.

"Course babe, see ya" Puck nonchalantly said

As Rachel left his house, she felt weird at how casual Puck was about her leaving straight away. He'd clearly cheated on his wife before. Shit that was right Puck had a wife, Rachel thought.

_Oh my god Rachel, what is wrong with you._

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Rachel decided she couldn't go home looking the way she did, so she'd called Elsie straight away, and headed for the hotel she was staying at. Elsie was glad to hear from Rachel as she'd missed her at the party and she wanted to tell her how things were going with Matt. Rachel has sounded stressed out so Elsie told her she should come over immediately. Elsie could always tell when something was wrong Rachel. Nothing ever slipped by her. However, Elsie was very shocked to open her hotel room door to find a very scraggy and messed up looking Rachel.

"What happened to you last night" she asked laughing at the site of Rachel.

"Nothing...why?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel you have sex hair..." she told her

"Fuck" Rachel yelled.

Elsie was beginning to get a little frustrated and not to mention worried, at the lack of details coming her way so she said seriously. "Okay Rachel enough with the act...spill"

"I had sex last night."

"With Will? Oh my God so glad. I heard you two got into a fight on Friday, so I'm glad you worked it out! How was it?" Elsie said with a wink. When Rachel's face turned into a frown and she didn't reply Elsie became a little worried. "Ray?" she asked.

"I had sex with Noah..." Rachel said monotonously before breaking down crying. And for the first time since she'd gotten that message from Oliver, here true feelings came out.

"How could I do this, he's married, and what about Will oh my God Elsie." Elsie hugged her crying friend, completely shocked at what she had just said. But Rachel was her best friend in the world, she loved her like a sister, hell they practically were sisters, and she would do anything for Rachel and would help her through any problem she may have.

"Okay, we are not going to freak out. We are going to deal with this systematically. Firstly we are going to go for a spa treatment to clear your head, and we are going to sort out your feelings to do with Oliver, Noah, Will, and whatever other guy you have in your life. Then you are going to find out if Puck wants to continue a sexual relationship and I am going to help you say **no** to him. Then we are going to work out what to do with Will. But most importantly Ray, we have to make you feel happy bubs."

Rachel looked up at Elsie and smiled. This was why they were best friends.

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During their hot mud soak in a bath, Rachel realised she had been so caught up in what she'd done with Noah and what she hadn't done with Will, that she'd forgotten that she'd been meaning to find out from Elsie how things were going with her and Matt.

She was so comfortable and relaxed in the mud bath, and the time she'd spent with Elsie this morning had been so helpful she didn't feel anywhere near as stressed as she had this morning. Wanting to find out how things with Elsie and Matt were, Rachel slowly moved her head to her left to see if Elsie was awake. Elsie looked kind of unconscious. This wasn't uncommon because Elsie always looked kind of passed when her eyes were closed. It was kind of strange actually. So she couldn't quite tell.

"Els" She hissed.

"Yes sweetie I'm awake. What's up?" Elsie almost immediately replied as if she'd read Rachel's mind in what sounded like a very relaxed and peaceful tone.

"Well I just realised I haven't got the update on the whole Matt story. Now that you've dealt with all my dramas so kindly I want to know what's going on with you... most particularly what's going on with you and Matt. So talk to me fabs." Rachel directly told her.

"Well..." Elsie smiled "things are great. I really like him. I know I've literally just gotten out of what was a pretty bad relationship, and I haven't fully come to terms with how things ended yet, but this thing with Matt isn't just a rebound. I think he's going to ask me out Ray."

_Wow_, Rachel thought. Elsie and Matt were actually kind of serious, she hadn't quite realised this. She had thought it was more a fun loving summer fling.

"That's so great honey. I'm really glad things are working out for you." Rachel said encouragingly, by pulling her best acting skills out of her butt, as she shrugged back down into her mud bath and let the warmth consume her.

Rachel was so happy for Elsie, she really was. But she wondered why it was that it was so easy for Elsie to simply follow her heart and she couldn't. Why couldn't she and Will just be together, why did she have to mess everything up? Elsie hadn't even known Matt for that long and they were already making serious progress in their relationship. Rachel and Will had known each other for years, and still couldn't work things out.

Rachel really did need to sort out her life. She had been right before, she wasn't ready to enter into a relationship right now. She wasn't in the right head space, she hadn't dealt with any feelings she'd felt after her breakup with Oliver. Clearly things in her life weren't as perfect as they seemed.

But maybe being with Will could help her. Help her be a better person.

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**Please read and review my lovelies!**

**E.**


	6. Somebody To Love

**Well first thing:**

**I am so sorry for taking so long. The truth is once I finished school I was utterly exhausted and suffering from a bit of depression, and at the same time stressing about getting into university for 2011. But I got in the Uni I wanted, and I'm a lot more refreshed and alive now :)**

**The next thing I would like to say is that if you haven't already heard, 3/4 of the second biggest state in Australia is currently flooded (equivelent to the size of germany and france combined), as well as a large area in NSW and Victoria. Over 125, 000 houses in Queensland alone, have been effected, and so far there have been 18 deaths, with many more missing and feared dead. If you have anything at all you can donate I urge that you please do. There are a large number of people struggling at the moment.**

**On a happier note... here is chapter 6, I hope you enjoy!**

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On a Sunday afternoon, exactly two weeks, after Rachel's incident with Puck, Rachel and Quinn were off to go shopping for the bridesmaid dresses. Quinn still had no idea about what Rachel had done, (Elsie had been sworn to secrecy) and was under the impression that things with Rachel and Will were at a slight pause but believed things were going to slowly work out.

Shopping for bridesmaid dresses meant that Rachel would be seeing Annabel - Quinn's maid of honour. Rachel really liked Annabel, she thought she was so lovely, and was the person most similar to Quinn she'd ever met.

Quinn and Annabel had met in their second year of college. Quinn's first year of college had really flown past her. She was still hurting all these years after her pregnancy during high school, she and Finn were still not talking to each other, mostly because Quinn was so ashamed of what she'd done, and she had been struggling to make new friends. But when Quinn walked into a class on her first day of her second year, she spotted Annabel right away. She looked so much like her, the resemblance was uncanny.

Ironically, Quinn and Annabel bonded over the fact that they had both gotten pregnant whilst they were in high school. Quinn wondered what the odds were of meeting another person who had been in the same position as her. She decided it was probably quite low which made it all the more remarkable.

Quinn's friendship with Annabel gave her a sense of comfort knowing that she had a friend she could relate to; a person who had been through what she'd been through; a person who knew the pain resulting from the knowledge of a child growing up somewhere out there in the world, that you had created.

Annabel had brought the life back into Quinn. It wasn't long before Quinn had worked up the courage to speak to Finn again, and things with Finn pretty much went on from there. Rachel honestly thought that if it weren't for Annabel, Finn and Quinn would never have gotten back together. And Quinn would never have been happy the way she is now.

Rachel had only met Annabel a few times, but was so glad to see how happy she had made Quinn.

When Rachel and Quinn got to the dress fitting shop they sat down on the couch to wait for Annabel. Annabel was temporarily working in Cincinnati but was driving down for the dress fitting, (and lunch), and would come back down later for the week of the wedding.

"Belle!" Quinn screeched as she saw her best friend walk through the entrance of the shop. They talked to each other on the phone every day but hadn't seen each other in over a month.

"Quinny, it's so great to see you" Annabel replied almost crying as she gave Quinn a hug.

"And Rachel it's lovely to see you again! How are you?" Annabel kindly asked.

"You too Annabel, I'm well thank you, yourself?" Rachel replied

"Very happy to be here." Annabel told her, "Now should we go try on some gorgeous dresses or what?"

"Sounds perfect. Now off to the change rooms you two. I gave the dress maker your sizes so they should fit well, but they can be altered so no stress, I just want to see how they look." Quinn excitedly told them.

Quinn had picked out really gorgeous dresses. They were wispy, lilac, floor length, and completely represented Quinn's artistic and feminine taste in fashion.

"Okay, come on out of the change room girl's I want to see them." Quinn shouted.

Annabel's dress fitted her perfectly, and made her look simply gorgeous. Rachel's dress however had a bit of a problem. It was too big.

"Rach love, I think yours is a bit...well...big." Quinn told her.

It wasn't until that moment that Quinn realised Rachel really had been looking thinner lately, and was a lot hollower in the face. A few days after Puck's barbeque, Rachel had told her things weren't going to work out with Will after all. Perhaps Rachel hadn't been coping too well, but was just hiding it. She _had_ seemed to notice Rachel was going to the gym a lot.

Quinn took Rachel aside for a moment and gave Annabel a nod so she knew that the two girls needed a private moment. "Maybe you've been working out too hard darling, are you okay?"

"No, no more than usual Q. I'm fine" Rachel snapped clearly scoffing at Quinn's suggestion.

It was a lie though. Rachel had been using exercise as an escape from the stupid mess she'd created. She didn't want to think about what she'd done with Noah. Thankfully he didn't carry on like anything had happened to anyone. On top of that she'd barely been eating anything.

Quinn decided to ignore that Rachel had been slightly rude to her when she was only trying to look after her because she understood that Rachel was probably struggling at the moment and decided she wouldn't push the subject any further.

After the dress fitting the three of them went out to lunch. The three girls conversed away but Rachel was really struggling to keep up. She couldn't get Will out of her mind. She felt so utterly terrible about what she'd done with Noah and so stupid for not being able to work out her feelings towards Oliver and Will before she made one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

Quinn was right though; she had been working out too much. Seeing how thin she looked in a dress that should have fitted her perfectly really freaked Rachel out. She was sorry that Annabel had to see her on day like today, she didn't mean to be rude but every time Annabel tried to include Rachel in the conversation all Rachel could manage to give were closed answers.

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The next morning Rachel had decided to make a conscious effort to sort out her health and took her fathers up on their offer to make her pancakes. She loved spending time with her fathers and since being back in Lima she realised that she really missed them, while she'd been in New York.

Conversation was going well until her fathers brought up _him._ They weren't exactly enquiring about Will per say but they did ask her whether she'd been down to see the Glee club whilst she had been home. Rachel wasn't stupid though, she knew her fathers were hoping she'd spend some time with Will. They love Will.

Lucky him she thought.

At the mere thought of Will, Rachel found herself feeling sad. She didn't understand how she could just let him go. She knew she wasn't ready for a relationship just yet but right now more than anything, Rachel really needed his company. She didn't know why, but she just did.

"Rachel, why don't you go visit Wi...err the glee club today? I'm sure Will wouldn't mind, he'd love the kids to meet you. And well I'm sure he's quite like to see you too." One of her fathers suggested.

_Maybe I will,_ she thought.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The moment Rachel pulled into the parking lot at McKinley High she felt nervous. Memories of what seemed like a life time ago rushed back into her mind immediately. This place had never really been a happy place for her, as much as she tried to pretend she loved it. From the numerous slushy facials to the name calling and social rejection she had suffered, Rachel could barely believe she was the same girl. These days most people would call her a social butterfly or the life of the party.

However, more than the uneasy feeling Rachel had about being at this place, she was more nervous about seeing Will.

Rachel made her way to the reception room where she would sign herself in as a day guest. She recognised the receptionist straight away; she had been working there when Rachel was still at school. The lady had always been a bitch to Rachel. Rachel even remembered her telling Rachel to stop complaining about needing more rest in the morning and that her singing was a waste of time because she was never going to go anywhere.

_Well I sure showed her_, Rachel thought.

"Hello, I'm Rachel Berry, I wa..." Rachel said with nicest fake smile

"Oh my... Rachel Berry from Chicago?" The lady immediately asked cutting Rachel off mid sentence.

"Yes" Rachel smiled, _ha!_ She thought.

"Oh my goodness I saw your performance at the tony's on TV. You were amazing! What are you doing here!" The lady asked astonished.

"Well I went to school here, I'm not sure if you remember me, but I thought I would visit the glee club while I'm in town." Rachel told her.

That lady gave Rachel a hard look up and down trying to remember who she was. Rachel could tell the exact moment she realised who she was...it was written all over her face; utter embarrassment.

"Oh yes dear I think I remember now, ha-ha well go right on in, the glee club are probably still rehearsing in the auditorium right now. I'm sure you know your way" The lady said trying to hide her embarrassment at how wrong she had been about Rachel all those years ago.

As Rachel walked towards the auditorium her heart was thumping. It was so loud she was sure if someone walked past her they could hear it beating. When Rachel opened the door to the auditorium she immediately heard a very familiar tune; _Somebody to Love._

The kids sounded fantastic and they looked it too. The club was so much larger than when she had been at school. Hearing the kids sing _somebody to love_, was mesmerising for Rachel. She could picture herself on the stage all those years ago, singing with all her soul. It was the only part of school where she ever felt like she fitted in.

Rachel was so caught up in her memories of her time in Glee club, she hadn't even noticed that the group had finished their performance, and Will was now talking to them. One of the older looking boys in the group, who actually reminded her a lot of Finn had obviously noticed Rachel standing there and pointed to her making the whole group, Will included turn to look at her.

Later Rachel would say that in that moment, when Will turned is head to look at her and smiled, that she became his right there and then. "Hi" Rachel said as she smiled.

"Rachel" Will replied before walking toward her, astonished to see her standing in front of him – but in a good way.

The two stood there for what seemed like an endless amount of time, watching each other, completely forgetting the class of students watching over them. Snapping out of her trance Rachel started "I...I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt, I thought I'd come and check you guys out, I..."

"I'm really glad you've come" Will told her before giving her a hug, and walking over to the kids, who all looked very confused.

"Hey Schue. whose this?" the same boy who had previously pointed at her asked.

"Guys, I want you to meet Rachel. She was the lead vocalist of the glee club in the first year I took over the club and was in the first ever group from McKinley to win at nationals." Will told them. Rachel smiled remembering how great their group was vocally.

Some of the kids in the group smiled at Will's announcement of who she was, but most looked like they couldn't care less. "Rach why don't you tell us about what you've been doing since you left school, it might give some of these guys some inspiration" Will encouraged.

"Oh well sure" Rachel said smiling, and began to tell her story.

"I guess I'd known pretty much my whole life that I wanted to be a performer. I pushed myself so hard, perhaps a little too hard in glee club, which I'm sure Mr Schue can attest to. I auditioned for a number of performing arts schools and was lucky enough to get into Julliard, which was my first choice."

"Whilst at Julliard I really blossomed, I developed a better sense of what sort of a performer I was, and what styles I was interested in, so I would really suggest anyone wanting a career in performance to go to a performing arts school. It also made me realise that I wasn't the only eager, hard working, young talented singer, in this country, and that it wasn't going to be easy if I wanted to break into this business."

"I auditioned for a heap of rolls, and got rejected which can be very heart breaking, but I just pushed through it because of how much I wanted it. I got to perform on some off-off broadway productions which were actually quite fun and helped me get through my struggles. After that I got some chorus positions on some Broadway productions, which weren't really that thrilling for someone like me who likes to be the centre of attention. So to preserve I really had to resort my way of thinking, and my ego. I think if I didn't I would never have gotten anywhere."

"One day I got a call back for an understudy for Maria in _West Side Story_. The first night that I got to perform as Maria, was the biggest turning point in my life. Up there on the stage, with all eyes on me, I felt right where I should be, I couldn't even think of the fact that I probably wouldn't have another chance like this in some time."

"However, in the theatre that night there were some scouts looking for the lead in _Spring Awakening_. They asked me to audition and I got the part. I really loved spring awakening, so when we wrapped I was really sad. Whilst performing with Spring Awakening, I got to perform at the Tony awards, I had Idina Menzel, my lifelong idol, tell me she was in love with my voice, and I made some really great friends."

"So from then I went on to play Velma Kelly in Chicago which I've actually only just finished, and that was just really, really amazing as well. I think from all the things I've done so far, I've learnt to cherish every moment even the little things like the friendships, and the amazing people who work behind the scenes.

"I'd always dreamt of this life, but I knew it would never happen unless I really worked for it, and didn't let anything get in my way, so if I can offer to you any advice... the most important thing to being successful, is to just want it more than anything, because that 'want' will push you more than you can ever believe."

Rachel had completely won them over. Each and every student was paying their full attention to her. Not only was her story, one that was exciting, and one to be envied, but Rachel's passion for her work, and the way she so emotionally spoke of her struggles and drive, and completely mesmerised every one of them, even those few who would typically act too cool to be interested.

Will, who himself had not heard this whole story from Rachel, found himself unable to take his eyes of her. He was completely entranced by her passion.

After finishing, what seemed like her monologue, Rachel looked up to find the whole class smiling at her, so in return she smiled back. "Thanks Rachel" Will told her "That was just fantastic, I'm sure all of these guys will have gotten a lot out of this."

"You know you guys really sounded fantastic before" Rachel told them, "Back when I was in school we actually sang _Somebody to Love_, I think it was probably one of my favourites."

"Oh Rachel would you sing it wish us?" One of the girls with an enthusiasm that was similar to her own asked her.

xxxxxxxxxxx

After the rehearsal finished Rachel and Will walked down the hallway together, they weren't really talking to each other, but mostly because neither knew what to say to the other, and didn't want to ruin the comfortable silence.

After a while Rachel finally spoke. "I'm really glad I came Will. It's really nice to see you" Rachel said without taking her eyes off him. As a result Rachel almost walked into someone; Emma Pillsbury to be specific.

"Miss Pillsbury?" Rachel asked surprised. "Oh Rachel it's so nice to see you! And please call me Emma" She told her very friendly and politely. "Okay" Rachel said smiling, but eager for Emma to leave so she could be alone with Will, which didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Hey Will" Emma said casually as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I have to meet a student in 5 minutes, but we'll chat later?" she said whilst she nonchalantly touched his arm before walking away.

Rachel was shocked.

"Since when does she touch people?" Rachel asked, "I thought she was like afraid of her germs or something" she said in an agitated and noticeably jealous tone. Before answering Rachel, Will laughed internally. "She's been working on it for a long time now" he told her.

"Oh" Rachel sighed.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous Rach. Now why would someone who just wants to be friends with me, be jealous of another woman touching my arm?" Will said smirking at her.

Rachel laughed and said "Shut up"

Rachel decided to stay with Will for his lunch break; she wasn't really sure what she was doing, because she didn't know what to say to him after everything that's happened. She decided to make a bold move and ask him what he was going to be doing later.

"Nothing" he smiled.

xxxxxxxxxxx

That afternoon after Will finished work at school, and went to meet Rachel at a "surprise" location, which turned out to be a _"Paint Balloon Throwing Game Yard"_. Interesting choice of a place to catch up he thought, but that was Rachel...interesting, and often unpredictable, but that was why he liked her.

"Hi!" Rachel yelled out to him when she spotted him and ran over to him. "Are you ready for this? I've wanted to do this forever! You're up for it right? I know it's kind of childish, but I don't think we ever let go of the child inside us..." she rambled on.

"Rach!" Will said as he laughed cutting her off, "Let's go!" he said grabbing her hand running towards the game area.

Rachel couldn't believe how comfortable she felt around Will. When she was with him it felt like she was coming home. She was so relaxed with him, so at ease, so...herself. She didn't care that she looked completely ridiculous and had smears of paint all over her body and face or... that she was letting her guard down around him.

The two of them had been going at it for nearly an hour, laughing and throwing balloons filled with paint at each other. However by this stage in their "game" Rachel had decided to become more mischievous, and was hiding so she could come out and surprise him. It wasn't long before she found a perfect opportunity. He was standing facing away from her, clearly unaware of her location...or so she thought.

She ran up behind him, as quietly as she could, and before she knew it, she'd squished a balloon of paint right into his head. But Will knew she was there, and immediately turned around and grabbed her into his embrace.

Rachel closed her eyes in anticipation of the kiss she had been longing for to come, but it didn't come. Rachel opened her eyes to find Will looking at her, as if he was trying to prolong this beautiful moment between them, but also as if he was waiting for her answer; which she gave him

Slowly, Rachel pressed her lips against Will's and held her position there for what seemed like a long time. Gently Will began to massage Rachel's lips with his own, and she replied amply. Quickly their kiss began to get incredibly passionate almost too much for the two of them to bear.

When they broke apart they both stood in place smiling at each other; Rachel, wrapped in Will's warms arms.

"You hair is covered in red paint" Rachel said trying to hold in her laughter.

"Well yours is covered in blue" Will replied smirking, before cupping her cheek and taking his chance to kiss her again.

xxxxxxxxxxx

As a storm was coming, they were both covered in paint, and they were closest to Will's house, they went back to his house to wash up. After Rachel had washed the last remains of blue paint out of her hair in the shower she put on pair of grey sweats and baggy t-shit that Will had leant her, while he washed and dried her clothes. Before leaving the bathroom to find Will, Rachel smiled at the smell of him on her skin.

When Rachel returned to the living room to find Will, he told her that he had just ordered some take out, and it would be delivered soon. So when their food arrived they sat and ate in front of the television, and watched a comedy movie.

With Will's arm resting around her shoulders, Rachel couldn't have felt more at home. All night they reminisced on times of the past, joked, laughed, and watched TV, until Rachel found herself unable to move her eyes away from Will's lips. And it wasn't long before Will noticed the location of here eyes' gaze.

Unlike their last kiss, which began slow and gentle, this time they rushed into their lips touch, and grabbed hold of each other like it was the last thing they would ever do. Will had Rachel's head cupped between his hands as he kissed her passionately.

Eager for more contact, Rachel climbed onto Will's lap so that she was straddling him and pressing her hot core into his lengthening pulse. Will moved his hands down Rachel's body, touching every part of her skin, but before pausing at the hem of her t-shirt. Gently Will lifted the t-shirt over Rachel's head leaving her chest completely bare. Will couldn't stop himself from groaning at the site in front of him; she was beautiful, in all her glory. Capturing her lips again Will allowed himself to gently fondle Rachel's breasts.

Rachel arched her back into Will's strong embrace, aching for more contact with him. In almost what seemed like a miller second, Will had lifted Rachel up in his arms, taken her to his bed, and they were both completely naked.

As Will was about to enter her, he realised that this time it was really going to happen, it wasn't just a fantasy any more, and nothing would stop them. From the way Rachel looked at Will, he could tell she had been thinking the same thing.

The moment he entered her Rachel knew it felt right, as he gently ran his hands threw her hair, kissed her everywhere and thrust inside of her.

They moved in unison, and together they reached their climax.

Both Rachel and Will didn't think anything had ever felt so right in their life.

**

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**What did you think?**

**Well why don't you let me know, and review ;) ?**

**E.**


	7. Canary Yellow

**Oh my God, I am so sorry, I hadn't realised how long it had been. I've barely been keeping up with Uni, let alone getting any writing done. As well performing in University plays and musicals. But it's no excuse so I'm really sorry!**

**The next chapter is almost finished so it should be up in no longer than a week. Also, Im re-writing the proglogue, which I expect I'll finsih before the next chapter.**

**I hope you like!**

* * *

_She realises she is alone._

"_I am alone, I am all alone, I am completely alone" She says._

_As the realisation grasps her, she drops to her knees and presses her forehead against the floor. She was in the upstairs bathroom of the big house in the suburbs of New York, which her lover had just bought for them. Like many other night's she'd found herself hiding up here. Sobbing._

_Sobbing so hard, that all of the shame, the fear and confusion flew through her._

I don't want to get married. _She thinks._

I don't want to live in this big house, and I don't want to have a baby.

_She was "supposed" to want to have a baby, or so he'd told her. She was almost thirty now, and clock was ticking. Oliver believed that their entire relationship had been built around expectation that they would eventually settle down and have children. _

_But what of her career? Did that mean anything to anyone but herself anymore? _

"But of course", _she'd tell herself, _"how selfish can I be? I should be able to do this for him"

_She used to dream about finding a husband and settling down into a family. She'd always thought that by this age she would have grown weary of performing on stage 8 times a week and would be happy to live in a big, busy household full of children, with a garden in backyard and something yummy cooking in the oven. But she didn't. Her ten years since leaving school had flown past her so quickly and she was fast approaching that deadline of thirty._

_But was thirty really that old? She hadn't had time to rethink her values, but now she couldn't help but think about what more she had to offer the world before she settled down, if ever. _Thirty _Wasn't a dead line anymore. At least not for her._

_But how could she turn back now? Imagine how Oliver would feel. He'd invested so much of his future in her. True, they were not married yet, but that was one of many things that was on his list; his list of life goals. _

_One; become a CEO of a major company – done. Two; by a huge house to make his friends jealous – done. Three; find a woman to make him look good – done. Four; marry her. Fiver: have Children. _

_Sometimes she wondered why he wanted to try for children before that married. Perhaps in case she couldn't have children_

_But was that all she was to him? Just a dot point on his life's checklist? She did love him though, truly she did. She didn't think she could cope disappointing him. But in the past months that they'd been trying to pregnant, when she got her period she would find herself in the bathroom whispering;_

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me one more month to live…."

_Oliver had started to notice something was wrong with her. But so swept up in her own emotions she hadn't noticed the subtle trails of what the man she did not want to upset had been doing._

_x_

"_How could you? How could you!" She screamed barely able to find the words she so desperately needed to use._

"_I hate you, I hate you so much!" She continued "Get away from me I can't stand the site of you!" _

"_And how could I possibly stand the site of you! I know you don't want this life with me anymore. _You_ led me to her! What is a man supposed to do Rachel?" Oliver retaliated. _

"_I thought we loved each other, how could you cheat on me with that bitch!"_

"_If you really loved me Rachel, you would quit complaining and just fucking marry me already!"_

"_I can't!" she cried._

Her eyes flung open. She'd forgotten where she was. Or when. But quickly she remembered; she was back home in Lima Ohio, far away from the bustle of New York. Her dreams had almost stolen her short-term memory. But not quite.

She felt very comfortable. She didn't remember her bed being so comfortable when she was younger. A soft warm arm pulled her into its body and she remembered. Oh boy did she remember; it was the most amazing night of her life.

_Will_. Last night she had, had sex with _Will_. Turning herself towards him, bringing them face to face, she smiled.

"Morning" He breathed with a smile plastered across his face.

Rachel couldn't help but giggle; it was sort of awkward in a comforting way. "How long have you been awake?" she asked.

"Not long. Just admiring the view." he said gazing at her.

As she pulled herself onto him, Rachel pressed her lips against his and smiled, happy to be here in this bed with him; and no one else.

x

"Do you really have to go to work today?" She pleaded as she searched the floor of Will's bedroom for her bra.

"Yes" he laughed as he pulled her into his embrace to sneak another kiss. "But" he went on, "I still have about an hour before I have to leave. And I really need a shower". Rachel quickly caught onto the hint Will was trying to pass and raised her eyebrow.

"Shall I join you?" she purred into his ear.

"I think so" he replied in a similar tone of lust.

"That's the rules." she jokingly agreed witch a giggle.

Taking her by the hand Will led her into the shower of his en suite. Will turned on the water faucet allowing the water falling from above in capture them. As the steamy water poured between them they met their lips in a passionate caress.

"Closer" She whispered.

"Much Closer" he agreed fingering her long wet hair through his hands. Grasping her naked form, Will lifted Rachel and pressed her against the wall of the shower. Rachel fervently wrapped her legs around Will's body desperate for more contact. As he looked into her eyes he saw they were bright with desire and lust, and waiting in expectation.

"Make me feel young." she said without breaking eye contact. Her parted lips drifted from his as she spoke but when he slid a finger inside of her, she plunged her tongue deeply into his mouth. Rachel remembered back all those years ago when she had felt his hand in that same place.

And yes, she did feel young.

Gently, yet thoroughly he stoked her and allowed her to caress his mouth, his neck, or wherever her lips could reach. Soon, Will knew Rachel was ready, and so was he.

He plunged himself inside of her. His breath held for a moment, as did hers. As he began to thrust inside of her, he could feel his knees buckling. He brought them to the floor of the shower and allowed her take the reins as she rode him.

They held each other as if the world would bust apart if the let go. Crying as one, they soared over the edge and all the way to the far side of paradise.

As they came down from their climax they held each other and allowed their breath to return.

"Thank you" she whispered.

xxxxxxxxxxx

As she left Will's house Rachel let the afternoon sun enfold her. The walk from Will's house wasn't short, but she felt happy strolling home through the sun. Rachel felt good. Really good,. She felt alive for the first time since she couldn't remember. It was that exciting anticipation of being on the cusp of something truly great.

And then suddenly she realised, she'd never had this feeling with her previous boyfriends. She thought she'd loved all of them. But how could she have when it hadn't ever felt as great as it did now. Apart from Oliver, Rachel was still friends with all her past boyfriends.

Greg was Rachel's first real boyfriend. They started dating during her senior year at Julliard. The problem with Greg was most definitely not his intellect, or his personality or even their common interests. Unfortunately, Greg reminded Rachel just a little too much of what her Father looked like when he was younger. She initially went along with it…but intimacy became impossible.

Telling Greg that she could no longer be with him that way was one of the most nerve-racking things she'd had to do. But when she told him, all he did was laugh and say okay then, let's go get some pizza. She knew he was going to be a good friend.

Then there was young gorgeous Tim, the boy she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with, until she found out he was gay.

As you'd expect with a gay boyfriend, sex was very minimal. Not that Rachel was a sex addict, but after a while it did make her…frustrated. What Rachel needed was a relationship largely involving sex. Cue Michael.

Michael was the kind of guy you loved to hate. They'd be arguing at all ends one minute and having amazing sex the next. It wasn't an ideal relationship; by the end they were basically very complicated friends with benefits. Eventually they decided to cut out the "benefits" part and continued on with their friendship.

And then there was Oliver…

So yes, okay, Rachel hadn't exactly had a great track record in the boyfriend department. But when she thought about the darkest moments with Oliver, she wondered whether she could have been wrong. Maybe it wasn't that she didn't want to get married. Maybe it was that she didn't want to be married to him.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay, okay, well all I'm saying is that Matt is way better in bed than Ethan."

"Oh God, I got the picture, okay? You can stop now." Rachel laughed into her phone as she searched her old bedroom for a pair of shoes.

"Alright you prude, are we still going out tonight? I could seriously go a drink. Matt's working tonight and I'm bored as hell."

"Oh God, don't make me vomit, you sound like your engaged." she laughed "But yes, I'll come by your hotel later." Rachel quickly answered before shutting off her phone.

"God where the hell are those shoes?" Rachel yelled in frustration. She'd been looking for a pair of shoes she'd probably only worn once. But she remembered wearing them to impress Will on the night of a glee performance.

The shoes weren't really anything special; they were normal patent pumps but were a gorgeous stand out canary yellow colour. She wanted to wear them again the next time she saw him.

Deciding she would continue looking for them later Rachel went downstairs to make herself something to eat. When she got to the kitchen she saw that her fathers had left a note on the bench for her.

_Rachel – We'll be out for dinner tonight but will be home later. Go out and have some fun!_

She couldn't help but laugh that her fathers hadn't even asked where she was last night but she suspected they already knew.

x

Later on, Rachel arrived at a really nice restaurant/bar with Elsie, in her canary yellow shoes. Yes, she found them. They were in attic. She was so excited about finding them that she couldn't wait till she saw Will again she had to wear them right away.

"Hot shoes, by the way babe. Don't think I've seen them before." Elsie said in passing as she walked over to the bar. _They were bought with someone in mind _Rachel thought unable to get Will off her mind.

"So what are we drinking?" Elsie excitedly asked her.

"Just wine tonight babe, and by the way…I'm here to have dinner not to get sloshed." Rachel told her laughing whilst being completely serious.

"Okay fine. I'll get us a table then shall I?" Elsie said immediately moving on.

"Perfect" Rachel smiled.

After the two girls ordered their wine and food Elsie got stuck into the conversation she had been waiting to discuss.

"So what do you think of Matt?" she asked.

"What do you mean what do I think of him? You spend more time with him than I do…" Rachel responded confused.

"Well let me rephrase then. What do you think of him as being my serious boyfriend?"

"Elsie what are you trying to say?" Rachel Questioned.

"He loves me Ray, and… I love him too." Elsie said more seriously than she'd ever said anything in her life.

Rachel wasn't quite sure what to say, and lucky for her she didn't have to right away because at that very moment the waitress arrived at their table with the bottle of wine they ordered.

"Thank you." Rachel told the waitress as she grabbed the bottle of wine, poured herself a glass, and took a long mouthful."

"Rachel? Are you going to say anything?" Elsie awkwardly laughed in anticipation.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I was in shock." She said

"Yeah, I hear you." Elsie breathed out.

"I thought after that big mess with, Ethan, you wouldn't fall in love so easily again." Rachel told her honestly

Rachel didn't have to say anymore, because Elsie knew exactly what Rachel was thinking. Rachel was worried that she was going to get hurt again, but she knew better. She smiled at Rachel, took her hand from across the table and told her.

"Don't worry about little old me fabs, this time is different, I know what I'm doing"

Hearing Elsie talk about her knew love, reminded Rachel of a time when she, herself needed her friend's ear. And she remembered the complete and utter support that Elsie had given her.

"_I don't know if I can do this anymore. All I want is a happy ending without hurting anyone. But if I don't stay with him, I would be betraying him and I don't think I can do that." She cried_

"_You cant live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love." Elsie told her._

"_Babe…you stole that from the notebook."_

"_I know; it's our favourite book. But babe… it still applies." She smirked. "And plus, I made you smile, so it works twofold."_

Elsie had always supported her, no matter what the situation was. Realising that she was being kind of hypocritical in her judgment on Elsie's relationship with Matt considering her own relationship with Will, Rachel decided to suck up whatever miss feelings she had, and be happy for her best friend.

"Forget what I said, I'm so happy for you Els. I trust your judgment." She said almost tearing as she smiled.

The two girls continued to chat as they ate their dinner. That was the thing about the two of them. They were so close that, conversation was (most of the time) seamless. It didn't matter how serious or depressing the conversation was, they were always able to tell each other anything without worry.

Rachel asked Elsie with all seriousness and honesty how Elsie was going to work her relationship with Matt, considering she would returning to New York after Quinn's Wedding. To Rachel's surprise Elsie and already discussed this with Matt, and to her luck, he'd been thinking of moving to New York anyway.

"You see Ray, it really is fate" Elsie told her.

"Yeah babe. It is."

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Rachel woke up feeling really happy. Things in her life were going really well. Two of her closest friends, Quinn and Finn were finally getting married, her best friend was in love with a really special guy, and things with Will were really great.

When she was with Will she didn't have to think about settling down, or sacrificing her friends, her career or any aspect of her life. Every moment she spent with Will was spent in the present.

When she'd got home from dinner last night she was worried her fathers were going to be angry with her. But it was quite the contrary.

They couldn't be more happy that Rachel was finally giving Will the time of day. They really liked him. For years they'd often mention him on the phone to her. But she'd always brush him off with disinterest.

Of course her fathers were never aware of how deep her feelings toward him during high school were. Or how hurt she had been by him. But that was all in the past now. She was going to live in the present.

Her fathers knew exactly where she'd been the other night, and in fact suggested she bring him over for dinner. Now…any normal girl would be alarmed, but not Rachel.

Rachel's fathers were not traditional by any means, but especially when it came to her own relationships with men. They weren't the kind of parents who would intimidate their daughter's lovers, or be judgmental on the person's age, religion or race.

So suffice to say, her fathers have no problems with the fact that Rachel might be sleeping with a man who used to be her teacher. Many people would have a problem with it, _but who cares, _they say, _you can't stop love_.

Without wasting any more time Rachel pulled herself out of bed and got out her phone to call Will.

Waiting for someone to answer the phone is always kind of nerve racking. There's usually no apparent reason to be nervous but it's always there for Rachel. But the wait was never long when she rang Will.

"Hey you." Will said through the speaker of her phone.

"Hi." She said beaming a smile through her voice, pleased to hear his.

"Are you at school?" she happily asked.

"Yes I am, are you in bed?" he asked laughing.

"Not anymore" she chuckled. "What are you up to tonight?"

"I'm seeing you." He told her smirking.

"I'm glad to hear it. Come to my house for dinner, the Dads want to see you."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"William! It's so great to see you!" Rachel's taller father greeted as he opened their front door.

"Oh please call me Will, Mr Berry!"

"Well then I must insist you call me Marcus in return. And look at that, you've brought a bottle of wine. You needn't have done that."

"But we greatly thank you anyway!" Rachel's other father piped in.

"That's right Levi we do. Now won't you come on in, I'll put that wine in the fridge." Marcus joyfully said.

"Would you like me to take your coat?" Levi asked with even more enthusiasm.

"Sure thanks." Will said slightly nervous.

As he entered their house he took in all of the furnishings. The house really was beautiful. He'd entered the house a few times over the years. But there was definitely something different about it now that Rachel was here.

And there she was standing in the living room waiting for him. Looking more beautiful then he could ever remember. Wearing a pair of shoes he distinctly remembered her wearing years ago. A time when he'd tried his hardest to suppress his feelings towards her.

Walking over to Will, she whispered into his ear with a chuckle, "Sorry about them, they're just so excited."

"It's fine." he said with a kiss on her cheek and reassuring smile.

"So Rach dear…Will…" Marcus gestured, "Have a seat at the table and Levi and I will get dinner underway."

When the food and the alcohol arrived at the dinner table the conversation began to flow. Rachel couldn't help but note that she'd never had family conversation like this with Oliver, and most of the time when she'd mentioned catching up with her fathers he'd try to change the subject.

But with Will, he was genuinely happy to engage in discussion with her fathers and she couldn't help but let the smile appear on her face every time he'd take hold of her hand it. It pleased her that Will felt comfortable enough with her already, to hold her hand so tenderly. There was no denying that when Rachel was around him she felt happier.

After they finished dinner and had, had some tea and coffee her father's left them alone to have some time together.

"Thanks for coming" Rachel softly told Will as they snuggled on the couch.

"It was my pleasure Rach." He said before softly placing his lips on hers.

"I know you can't stay long, but will you let me tell you something before you go?" She asked him.

"Of course" he told her.

"Okay well… You see these shoes?" she told him trying to laugh at how stupid this all must sound

"Yes" he told her

"I bought them along time ago. For a special occasion in fact."

"Well I remember them. But only because I remember how beautiful you looked that night."

"Well then you should know. This is silly, but…" she paused before looking him right in the eyes "that I bought them for you" she finished unable to stop herself from laughing.

"Well they are very cute shoes Rach. And of course it's silly" He laughed with her before leaning over her form and allowing himself one more kiss for the night.

x

Later that night whilst in bed thinking of all things William Schuester, Rachel was woken by her phone.

"Hello?" She slurred.

"Rachel Darling! It's Richard…you know…your manager. Remember me?" the phone told her with a hint of irritation.

"Oh God… Richard. I'm sorry I haven't been in contact lately. It really is like being in another world in lima, Ohio." She excused.

"Well of course, there's no place like Manhattan." He smugly replied.

"Yeah… so is there a reason you decided to call me so late?" she asked annoyed that her dreams of Will had been interrupted.

"Isn't there a time difference? I thought it'd be around 10pm for you." Richard asked with indifference.

"No Richard, there is no time difference" Rachel said in frustration. Is ignorance was something to be expected of a New Yorker who cared little of the world outside their hub.

"Well regardless, I've called you to let you know you have an audition for Wicked next Monday. So you have to come back to New York."

"Richard… I'm really enjoying my break at the moment."

"Yes well you think that now, but my dear you will regret this. The director is very excited to see you. And besides it will not be good for your career if you don't go."

"Fine I'll be there."

"Perfect I'll arrange all the flights and travel arrangements for you. All you have to do I show up. I'll see you soon love. Ciao" he said, immediately hanging up the phone.

_Ciao_ she said to herself.

* * *

**Please leave me a review!**

**Next chapter set in New York!**

**E.**


	8. Manhattan

**Later than I promised I'm so sorry, but it's really hard! Hopefully next chapter will be up sooner; I'll try my hardest. And Thanks to all you beautiful readers who have stayed with this story.**

**I hope you enjoy!  
**

* * *

She hated plane rides. It was probably why she hadn't been back to Lima all these years. Well…one of the reasons.

It wasn't that she didn't like travelling; she adored exploring the world. She just always got a sickening feeling in her stomach and head. She would always try to sleep it off but that seemed to hard right now, she had too much going on in her head. Rachel was one of those people that overanalysed every situation, so much that she'd start to feel bad about herself. Right now though she needed to just stop thinking. Although she knew it was wrong she took some cough medicine and tried to get herself to sleep.

As she dozed off, she wished that she was still back at Will's house earlier that morning.

x

"So you sure you'll be okay here?" she asked again.

"Yes Rachel, for the fifth time, I will be okay here in Lima. Now, go off and be amazing at your audition in New York! Okay?" Elsie said through the phone.

"Alright well, I'll see you soon. Love you Els."

"You too Ray." Elsie replied before shutting of the phone.

"Sorry Hun." Rachel said as she returned to Will's kitchen table for breakfast.

"This is beautiful." she said as she sat down next to him.

"So are you" Will replied as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Rachel couldn't help but giggle _he was so sweet_, she thought.

"Yum, how'd you know how much I love yoghurt? And Mixed berry flavour! Oh you are perfect." she laughed before sneaking another kiss on Will's lips. Will took this opportunity to pull Rachel into his arms and hug her as he kissed her along her neck. As they embraced each other's warmth neither could help but smile.

"It's not too late for you to come with me, you know." Rachel slyly suggested "You could meet some of my New York friends, see my apartment and spend some alone time with me." She said looking up at him with a cheeky look in her eyes.

"Rach, not that, that doesn't sound wonderful, but I have to work, and besides, why are you so concerned about going back on your own? I know you've been trying to drag Elsie back with you. What's the matter?"

He saw right through her lame attempt at trying to be cute. The truth was New York felt so far away now, She hadn't even been gone that long, but she'd sunk right back into her Lima, Ohio bubble and it was about to burst. It would be so much easier if she had someone there with her when it did. She was also scared that when she got there she wouldn't want to leave. And where would that leave her and Will.

"It's nothing, I'm just going to miss you is all." She said seriously. It was partly true.

"Okay well you keep eating, and I'm going to make some coffee so you can have it on the car ride to the Airport." Will said kissing her on the forehead before getting up.

"Okay" she said as she grabbed a croissant.

x

"Miss? Miss? We've landed Miss, you have to get off the plane now."

"Oh God. Was I asleep?" Rachel said as she jolted awake.

"It appears that way Miss. Now, can I get you off the plane now?" The airhostess said with a subtle sneer.

"Oh sorry, of course" Rachel embarrassingly said as she got her bag and got off the plane.

As she walked across to the baggage claiming area she sent a quick text to Will to tell him she'd arrived safely. Richard her manager was there waiting for her, of course. He could be a little overbearing at times.

"Sweetie, look at you. Don't you look thin!" Richard enthusiastically said as he gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks love" Rachel said as she begrudgingly let Richard hug her. To anyone else it would seem like an insult but in Rachel's line of work she knew it was a compliment.

"So our car is waiting for us outside so let's go darling." He said as he led her to a big black Chrysler 300. Of course he's taking her in some super expensive private car. _Richard doesn't know how to do subtly_, Rachel thought.

"Richard this is so unnecessary" She told him as they got in the car. "Although it was very nice of you to pick me up… honestly I could have just got a cab back to my apartment."

"Don't be ridiculous darling. I think you've forgotten how amazing Rachel Berry is. Rachel Berry my dear deserves only the best! Now shut up, I have to go over your schedule with you."

"Fine" Rachel sighed. She put up with her over controlling manager's personality because he really was terrific. He always managed to get her great auditions and knew exactly how to work out tough situations.

"So your audition is on Wednesday morning. I'll be picking you up so don't worry about a thing; just make sure you keep your vocal chords clean and healthy. By the way I should mention that the audition process has actually been going on for while now, they've made a special exception in their schedule for you. So your actually quite lucky because Callbacks, which you will be getting, are on Friday, from then on I guess you can go back to your farm."

"God Richard I don't live on a farm." She spurted out completely frustrated. "Anyway…" she went on "If my audition's not till Wednesday why did I have to come to New York today?"

"Because dear, I would like the world to know that you still exist. And if your not in New York you pretty much don't. So it would be nice if while you were here you did some socialising. Okay?"

"Yeah sure whatever" Rachel huffed.

As their conversation ended Rachel allowed herself to relax. The cough medicine she'd taken earlier hadn't exactly worn off yet, so she was still quite tired. As she rested she looked out the car window and took in the beauty of Manhattan. God she'd missed it here, she hadn't realised just how much. She was right though; she knew that as soon as she came back she'd fall in love over again.

When they finally reached her apartment, Richard gave her an extensive set of notes hid written for her, to prepare for her audition and the audition requirements, including what he thought she should wear. He definitely never skips a beat. As soon as Rachel opened the door to her apartment, she felt home. This really was her home now, as much as she loved being in Lima for her break, it wasn't her home; no matter who lived there.

Her apartment could be described as being neatly disorganised. The apartment almost took on the form of a loft as the rooms opened onto each other, her queen size bed visible from the entrance of the apartment. The only door in the apartment was the door to the bathroom, for her guests privacy when the came over. Above her bed Rachel had hung a collage of art, making the entire wall look like an art gallery; only a few of the pieces of art were actually worth anything, but they all held beauty in Rachel's eyes. In the middle of the apartment was a large dining table, which she loved, because she thoroughly enjoyed having dinner parties her apartment. Her Upright Piano sat next to her windowsill, and doubled as a bookshelf. The windowsill had become a very important part of her apartment over the years. She liked to think of it as her reflecting area of her apartment. She liked to look out at the busy streets of New York, and think well my life is as chaotic as New York at least.

Suffice to say she loved her apartment; every part of it. After dropping her bags off in her walk in wardrobe she went to check to see if she any messages on her phone.

"_Hey Baby Doll, Justin here! Heard on the grape vine that your back in Manhattan this week. So I think a shopping trip is in order, also I have lots of news to fill you in on! So call me if you decide to take me up on the offer! Love you doll"_

Justin was one of the three gay guys she befriended when she worked at Macy's still trying to make it big on Broadway. Justin was now working as a fashion stylist for Bazaar. He took a lot of joy in picking out fits for Rachel, and she let him. Justin pretty much taught her how to be fashionable and get rid of that crap she used to wear as a teenager. She was definitely going to go shopping with him; he could help her work out what to wear on her audition.

xxx

The next day Rachel had organised to meet Justin at Bloomingdales. Justin had text her to let her know he was running late, so she took the opportunity to flow through the beautiful clothes. She loved being surrounded by beauty. There were so many things she wanted to buy, but she was running low on funds, as she wasn't currently working. Not that she was poor, she had loads of money from _Chicago_, but rent in New York didn't come cheep.

"Ray Bear!" Justin sang as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Someone has gotten toned! Look at you! Have you been working out you look great babe!" she said smiling.

"Well sort of, I have lots of things to tell you dear!"

"Well I cant wait to hear it all! Tell me everything!"

"All in good time love. But first we shop. It's on me today. Now lets look for something for you to wear on your audition on Wednesday."

"Hey how'd you know I needed an outfit for my audition? Have you been talking to Richard?"

"I guess you could say that." He answered with an ambiguous suggestion.

Rachel paused for a moment, and thought about it. Justin had said he had a lot to tell her, he looked in really good shape, so he was probably sleeping with some new guy, but, no…she froze.

"Oh my God, please don't tell me your fucking him Justin!" she said much louder than she realised.

"Jesus Rachel, did you want to say that any louder." He said without answering her question.

"Sorry" she muttered. "But babe…Richard? You can do so much better. He's a total jack ass!"

"Ray, I'm not just "fucking" anyone." Justin answered annoyed. "I am however, in love with someone. And this one loves me back!. I'd wanted to say this so much better than this. God Rach you ruined by beautiful speech" he joked.

"But alas, I am not in love with Richard so don't worry your socks Rach. It's a close friend of Richards so I have been seeing him quite a bit lately."

"Oh my goodness Justin, I'm so happy for you!" She shouted with glee as she jumped into his arms. "You have to tell me all about him!"

"Oh I will, but let's get this shopping underway first."

"Okay she smiled."

They looked through an array of stores, and Justin selected numerous outfits for her to try. As she was in the change room at Henri Bendal's Richard passed her a gorgeous red dress to try on.

"Justin" she called out, "I so can't wear this to my audition, this is something I'd wear out at night."

"Try it anyway!" he smirked. He was planning to take Rachel out, and she had to look damn hot when he did.

As she looked herself in the mirror wearing the dress, she couldn't help but smile. It really was gorgeous it had a vintage chic look to it, and was so her.

"Fine, I guess we can get this one." Rachel joked as she walked out of the change room to show Justin.

"God Ray, you look so hot! You could turn me straight" Justin joked. "Now lets get a pair of heels to go with it!"

xxx

Their shopping day had been very successful. Rachel had bought the gorgeous red dress and some black Jimmy Choo sling backs to match. For her audition she got a white cashmere blazer from Ralph Lauren and a black knee length dress with V neck and covering on her shoulders from Valentino. Yes, a very successful shopping day. She even thought she'd noticed a few people taking photos of her while she was out so that should make Richard happy.

Afterwards Justin took her to Café Carlyle for high tea; he liked to be high class. It was usually really hard to get a reservation, but Justin had connections. In other words he'd slept in high places, as Rachel liked to say.

"So tell me about this guy your in love with." Rachel started.

"His name's Matthew, and well… he's totally amazing!" Justin started. Rachel noticed how he smiled as he said his name. Sometimes she thinks she feels the same way about Will. As she listened to him speak about this new guy, Rachel's mind wondered back to Lima. She wondered what Will was doing right now, and if he was thinking about her. Did she love him? She wondered. How was Justin so sure that he was in love? Rachel had thought she was in love before but she'd been wrong. But by the way Justin raved over Matthew, she could tell he really was in love. As their tea and scones arrived they continued to chat about love and other things.

"So I guess I'm sort of seeing someone too." Rachel told him, instantly regretting it. She hadn't talked to anyone much about what was going on with Will, but since Justin had opened up about Matthew she felt guilty.

"Really? When did this happen? Is it someone from Lima?" Justin questioned surprised.

"Yeah he is, but it's sort of complicated. Promise you wont judge me if I tell you about him…" She asked slightly nervous.

"Of course love, who am I to judge anyway!" He joked which made her laugh.

"Okay well…he used to be my Glee teacher. But he was always much more to me than that. We were good friends, but I always liked him more than that. One night we both lost control for a moment, and I'd barely spoken to him or thought of him since I left Lima. And then when I saw him again I felt something again. I've been so crazy though, it's been taking me forever to make up my mind over him. It doesn't feel wrong with him at all, but I mean it's weird that he was my teacher…"

"Hmm I see. Well it's not like he was a real teacher anyway, so that counts for something. I think you should go for it Ray, forget about all the other crap!"

"But he lives in Lima, and my life is here in New York. How do we get around that?" She queried

"Well those are things you should be discussing with him, not me. But in all seriousness, if it's meant to be, you'll work it out." Justin told her as patted her hair. She had to admit he was right; she did need to discuss it with Will at some point.

"Anyway, this conversation has got kind of glum. Why don't you come out tonight, you can meet Matthew and I'll get Adam and Anthony to come out! What do you say sweet cheeks?"

"Not tonight love, I have my audition tomorrow. But tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Done!"

xxx

The next morning Rachel got up ready for her audition. She wasn't nervous, she was quite used to auditioning now, and she wasn't that desperate for this role anyway. Seeing as it would mean she would have to come back to New York. Richard was surprisingly calm on the car ride to her audition. She was expecting him to be worrying that she wasn't prepared and making sure she realised how serious this audition was. She was glad, because she didn't feel like being nervous right now.

However, when she got there she wasn't able to stop the butterflies from appearing in her stomach. Richard had said that the casting directors had made a special exception with her auditioning so late, but there were hundreds of girls there waiting to audition. She could here some of them warming up and she could tell they were good.

"Richard?" Rachel snidely queered. "So the casting directors made a special exception for me?" she said sarcastically

"Yes darling, you don't have to wait in line like all the rest, come with me, your going in straight away." He told her

"Oh great" Rachel sarcastically cheered feeling more nervous every second. She seemed to have forgotten how big of a deal this audition was. This was Wicked! She could possibly be playing Elphaba; she would be just like Idina Menzel. Her nerves were however wiped away as soon as she met the casting directors. They were ecstatic she was there, to say the least.

"Rachel Berry! We are so glad you made it back to New York in time for auditions. We're so pleased you're here!" The taller of the two men told her as he gave the back of her hand a kiss.

Yes, she was so ready for this.

The audition was quite intense. They started with some simple dancing exercises to get her loose. They already knew she could dance because of _Chicago_, so the dancing was nothing too intense. She then spent what felt like ages reading scripts with other potential actors, she felt in the zone, but wasn't sure if she was pulling off the character.

They then did some vocal exercises to check her harmonising potentials and her range and also to warm her up. They then asked her to sing her prepared song.

When it doubt Rachel always goes for Barbra, her icon.

_People,_

She began,

_People who need people,_

_Are the luckiest people in the world._

_We're children, needing other children__  
__And yet letting our grown-up pride__  
__Hide all the need inside,__  
__Acting more like children__  
__Than children._

Her face held so much passion as she let the words flow through her.

_Lovers are very special people,__  
__They're the luckiest people__  
__In the world._

_With one person, one very special person__  
__A feeling deep in your soul__  
__Says you were half,__  
__Now you're whole.__  
__No more hunger and thirst_

_But first be a person__  
__Who needs people.__  
__People who need people__  
__Are the luckiest people__  
__In the world!_

_With one person, one very special person__  
__A feeling deep in your soul__  
__Says you were half,__  
__Now you're whole.__  
__No more hunger and thirst_

As she came to the song's climax, she didn't notice anything in the room but the feeling inside of her.

_But first be a person__  
__Who needs people.__  
__People who need people__  
__Are the luckiest people__  
__In the world!_

As she ended she let out her breath, she couldn't hear or see anything around her. It felt amazing to sing again, she'd forgotten how much she'd missed it. She was jolted back to reality as she heard clapping around her.

xxx

"Are you sure?" she asked

"Yes dear, absolutely beautiful" Richard reassured her.

At the conclusion of her audition Richard had taken her out for lunch.

"Can I take your order now?" The waitress asked annoyed. Rachel and Richard had been sitting there talking for a while now, and the waitress was sick of coming up to ask if they were ready to order.

"Just a glass of white wine for me" Richard told her. He was dieting at the moment but apparently alcohol didn't count. _Always a good time to celebrate_ he says.

"And I'll have the chicken focaccia and a glass of water" Rachel told her.

"Do you want that with chips of salad?" The waitress asked.

"Chi-"

"She'll have the salad" Richard interjected. "I'm thinking of your figure darling" Richard said smiling. She got annoyed at his interference in her diet but this wasn't a huge deal so she let it go.

"I have do admit darling, something's different about you." Richard said once the waitress had left.

"It seems as though something's being going on in Lima, Ohio. You definitely have a spark in you that wasn't there before." Richard told her as he eyed her

"Well…" Rachel began, considering whether she should tell Richard about Will.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say your seeing someone. But thankfully I do no better, and you know that it wouldn't be good for your career to get involved with someone right now." He told her as if he already knew.

Now probably wouldn't be a good time to mention that she is quite possibly falling in love with someone, which could really screw up her life in New York. Richard may be ignorant in some respects but he's not naïve, and he can tell something's been going on.

After their lunch Rachel couldn't stop thinking about her relationship with Will as she walked home. There was definitely no way she could ever give up New York. Her work was everything to her, sure Richard got on her nerves, but she actually deep down really liked him. He'd worked so hard for her over the years. She loved her apartment, she loved the vibe of New York and she loved all her friends here.

But she couldn't imagine asking Will to give up his life in Lima. His work means a lot to him too. In this say and age getting jobs is so hard, it would be so complicated for him to start all over in New York. She'd come to terms long ago with being away from her family in Lima, but she can't imagine Will being able to the same. She might be underestimating him, but she still felt unwell in her stomach about it. Just as she was thinking about she walked right into a person she hadn't seen.

"Fuck!" she yelled before looking up into a familiar pair of eyes

xxx

_They were running through Central Park unable to control their laughter. It was starting to rain but neither of them cared. _

"_Wait" she shouted "Your too fast"_

"_Your too slow baby, come on, hope on my back" he chuckled as he let her catch up to him._

"_Are you sure?" she giggled now completely soaked from head to toe._

"_Yes baby, come on!" he encouraged_

_So there they were, piggy backing through central park in the middle of a storm. They'd been exploring the city all day and had got caught in the rain. So why not run through central park like mad men they thought._

_At some point they'd fallen on the ground lost in the moment and just lay there in the grass. Pulling herself up to look at him she smiled._

"_I love you Oliver" she told him waiting anxiously for his reaction._

_For the briefest moment Rachel saw something in his eyes that she'd never noticed before. There was a look in his eyes; she wasn't sure what it was but when he smiled back and said "I love you too" she didn't believe it._

"Rach?" he asked again looking worried.

"What..." She stuttered feeling disorientated.

"I said I thought you were in Lima until the end of February?" Oliver repeated.

Rachel wondered how he knew this, because they'd barely spoken in ages, although Richard's word of mouth seemed to extend pretty far these days.

"Nice to see you Oliver, but I'm not interested in talking" she sternly told him before attempting to walk off but Oliver's hand stopped her as he grabbed her arm.

"Rach, wait." He said with stress. "I'm sorry about…what happened, but… I still love you."

"Oh" Rachel cried. She couldn't hear this now. She wasn't even ready to hear Will tell her he loved her let alone have Oliver say it. "How can you tell me that, you haven't talked to me in months other than telling me to get out of your life…"

"That doesn't change how I feel! I know I…"

"Liv!" she shouted cutting him off, cursing the fact that she'd used her old nickname for him.

"Why are we having this conversation in the middle of the street? If we hadn't bumped into each other I wouldn't even be hearing these things. This is just so fucked up! Don't you get that?"

"Rach," Oliver tried

"No! I've moved on Oliver, and you should too." She said before running off.

As soon as she turned the corner she let out a sob. Hearing Oliver say the words "I love you" had really scared her. The entire incidence really freaked her out; the flashback along with everything else. Did Oliver really still love her? Had he ever even loved her? She couldn't work it out, and she didn't want to think about it anymore. She wasn't going to let this ruin the rest of her time in New York.

xxx

As Rachel entered a new trendy bar in Soho called Chaos, she spotted Adam and Anthony. The guys would be going off to one of their gay bars, probably Babylon, but not till later on so she had plenty of time to dance and sing with them.

"Hello Boys!" Rachel squealed as she came up behind Adam and Anthony.

"Ray Bear" they squealed back each giving her a tight hug.

"How are you girl?" Adam asked

"Same old me" Rachel told them even though it wasn't entirely true.

"What about you boys? Anything going on in the love department Adam?" She asked. Anthony already had a boyfriend, but was never going to be ready to take it to the next lesson, so no one ever asked.

"Lonely in love, as per usual." Adam answered, "But its worse now because Justin's "in love" so sickening"

"You'll find that someone darling" Rachel told him sincerely. "But speaking of Justin, where is he?"

"He's at the Bar, I'll go tell him you're here." Anthony told her.

"No, No, I'll go over and say Hi. You boys stay where you are." She told them.

Manoeuvring her way over to the bar Rachel noticed several sets of eyes on her. At first she thought it was people noticing her from _Chicago_ but then she realised it was because of the dress she was wearing. The one Justin had got for her the day before. It really did make her stand out.

"Baby doll, your wearing the dress!" Justin shouted as she reached him.

"Sure am, babes." She said smiling. She then noticed the gorgeous looking guy standing next to Justin and realised that he must be Matthew.

"Rach, this is Matthew" Justin said pointing towards the guy.

"So nice to meet you!" Matthew told her as he gave her a kiss on the cheek "I've heard so much about you! I can't wait to see one of your shows sometime."

"Oh thank you, your so sweet! And it's a pleasure to meet you to, I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thanks doll" Justin told her, "Now, what can we get you to drink?"

"I'll have a Gin and Tonic, light on the Gin – heavy on the tonic."

"What happened?" Justin dramatically asked.

"Oh my God nothing! You make me sound like an alcoholic." She replied trying to laugh it off, although she had been trying very hard to forget about her altercation with Oliver earlier in the day. And as so needed to drink.

"Okay if you say so sweetie. Now let's get the night started!" Justin excitedly said.

For the rest of the night Rachel danced and laughed her heart out. She forgot about Oliver and just lived in the moment. These guys really were great company. They were yet another part of New York she could never say goodbye to.

xxx

Rachel spent the next day, roaming around her apartment. Richard had called her in the morning to let her know she didn't get a callback so she had booked a flight and would be returning to Lima that night.

She was disappointed she hadn't got the part in Wicked, she hadn't realised quite how much she wanted it. She thought she should feel that these days in New York had been a waste of time, since she the audition was unsuccessful, but she didn't feel so. She'd talked Richard into letting her make her own way to the airport, which he reluctantly agreed to. As she said goodbye to New York on the way to JFK she'd gotten a call from Richard.

"Hello Darling" he opened.

"Hey Rich, what's up?" Rachel said sounding slightly deflated.

"You got the part that's what!" Richard almost shouted at her.

"Wait! What? But I didn't get a call back." She asked amazed.

"Exactly they didn't need one, they'd pretty much already decided they wanted you. The Audition was basically just protocol" He told her.

"Oh my God" was all Rachel could manage to say.

"Now listen darling, you'll need to be back in New York by the start of February for rehearsals, so organise what ever you have going on in Lima and get your talented ass back here!" he said immediately hanging up as he finished.

_The start of February_ she thought. She'd have to leave almost immediately after the wedding. That only gave her three weeks to sort out everything with Will.

She definitely had a lot to think about.

xxx

**:)**


	9. Fine

**Guys, I am so sorry it's been so long since I last updated. All I can say is that I am a horrible person and I absolutely promise that it won't be that long until the next chapter is posted. Various reasons kept me from writing this, one of them being that I had fully planned out the next chapter but had so many holes for this one. Also, university has been incredibly hectic, I'm writing a novel with my friend, and have had a heavy involvement with my university's theatre company.**

**But anyway, I hope you guys haven't completely forgotten about this story, and enjoy this chapter!**

**xxx**

"Just hold still for one more minute miss" the dressmaker's assistant insisted.

Quinn had brought Rachel and Annabel to the dressmakers to finalise the last touches on their dresses before the big day.

"Oh my gosh you two look so beautiful! The dresses are perfect" Quinn uttered as she began to get emotional. When they'd had their first fitting Rachel's dress had been to big, particularly around her bust, but just didn't quite fit right all over the place. But this time it really did look perfect. A wispy floral sleeve covered one shoulder and cut down low on her back on the other. The lilac colour really suited her softly tanned skin as well.

"Just sorting out with final touches Miss Fabray." The dress maker told her as she made her final stiches on Annabel's Dress.

"Well she wont be Miss Fabray, for very much longer" Rachel teased as she gave Quinn a hug.

"I'm so excited!" Annabel chimed in, "everything is going to be so perfect, and I can't wait for Will to see you in that dress." She added directing her focus towards Rachel.

Rachel's eyes snapped towards Quinn, "Quinn…" Rachel sternly exclaimed as she attempted to pull her aside "I thought I said I didn't want everyone to know about Will and I…"

"Honey I didn't say anything…everyone knows. You two have been parading around town all month. What's the problem? You can't still be worried about how it looks can you?" She queried.

"No it's not that…I just don't want anything to be official." Rachel paused before she continued with what she had to say, "Look you can't tell anyone. And yes Annabel I know your listening, so you can't tell anyone either. But…I got the part in Wicked. I'll be moving back to New York straight after the wedding, and I haven't figured out what to do with Will."

"I see…" Quinn said knowingly. "Well, you can't help the fact that everyone knows about you guys anymore. First thing you need to do, is _tell him_ you got the part! You can't keep this from him. And you need to discuss this with _him_. Okay?"

"I know, I know. I've just been so confused about how to broach the subject. I guess I'll just have to figure it out."

"Yep, now can we get back to business?" Quinn promptly replied. Ordinarily with an issue like this Rachel would call Quinn from New York and Quinn would give a thorough counselling session on what to do. But Quinn was busy, and didn't realise how big of a deal this was for Rachel. But Rachel was okay with it being this way. She didn't want to taint this special time in Quinn's life.

"Sure thing." Rachel said trying to cover up her nerves that still hadn't gone away.

"Okay girl's I'm going to go try my dress on now. If you tell a soul what it looks like, you are not my bridesmaids anymore. Is that clear?" She said with an eerily chirpy tone.

"Yes." Annabel and Rachel agreed simultaneously as they gave each other a secret smirk.

Before long Quinn appeared out the front of her changing room. Anyone would have agreed that Quinn was the definition of beauty and class. The dress was a timeless white piece that entailed a fitted bodice and a long flowing skirt, enamoured with delicate floral lace.

"Oh Quinn…" Was all Rachel could manage to voice, stunned at how breathtaking Quinn looked. It was more than simply looking beautiful. She looked _bridal_ and in love. Rachel couldn't help but envy her. It was the first time she could think of, that she thought she would like to get married. She wanted to feel the way the Quinn so clearly looked.

"Come here." Quinn said to the both of them smiling. She brought the two of them to either side of her taking their hands in hers as she turned them to come face to face with the mirror. "This is it girls! In just under two weeks, I will be Mrs Quinn Hudson!" she said barely managing to hold in her excitement.

"It's perfect Q. you're the perfect bride." Annabel told her leaning her head in the crook of Quinn's neck. Rachel was lost for words, she was so happy for Quinn but so misconstrued with her own feelings. So she just squeezed Quinn's hand a little tighter, and continued to smile into the mirror.

After they changed out of their dresses and back into their regular clothes, Rachel decided to make a point of mentioning the fact that a Hen's night had yet to be organised.

"Do people really still do that?" Quinn asked confused but kind of excited by the idea.

"Yes they do!" Annabel exclaimed, agreeing with Rachel. "Now Rach, you've been such an angel organising the rehearsal dinner and other plans whilst I've been working, so I'm going to organise this one. Okay?"

"Fine by me" Rachel happily agreed. It would be good to not have to handle any extra work right now.

"Now shall we go for afternoon tea girls?" Quinn asked

"Oh I'm sorry Q, I told Will I'd pick him up from work. His car broke down this morning."

"Oh what a pain. Okay well I'll call you tonight to finalise arrangements for the rehearsal dinner." Quinn replied

"Ok. Great to see you both tomorrow." Rachel told them as she gave them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

As win reached her car, she heard Quinn calling after her. "Wait, Rach" Quinn said catching up to her. "Look I just wanted to say, I didn't mean to brush off your problems with Will like they meant nothing."

"Quinn, you didn't its fine…"

"No I did a little bit. If you want my opinion, I would say to savour every moment you have with him. If there's any chance what you have is going to end, every moment you have left is special. So yeah…just savour it."

"Thanks Q." Rachel said giving her a big hug. She really needed that.

**xxx**

"Hey Stud" Rachel said as she pulled her car into the curb at McKinley.

"Hey hot stuff." Will countered as he gave Rachel a quick kiss through the window of her car.

"Oh God I've missed you!" she said as soon as he landed in the passenger seat of her car. Immediately, Rachel moved into Will, planting her lips on his and pressing her hand up against his thigh. Will reciprocated by cupping her face with one hand, and subtly groping her smooth bare leg with the other.

"You saw me this morning baby." Will quipped, as they finally broke apart for air.

"I know, I missed you anyway" she giggled as she pulled him in for another kiss.

As Rachel drove them back to Will's house she couldn't help but think about Wicked. She knew she had to tell him, but she didn't want it to be right now. She would tell him though.

She would.

"Do you want to come and do a master class with the glee club tomorrow? I understand if you don't really want to, but I think the kids would get so much out of it. And plus some of them really love you." Will asked her.

Having him want and appreciate her expertise made her feel special. "That sounds like of heaps of fun, I definitely will." She responded. By the time the car had arrived at Will's house they agreed that Rachel should come in for afternoon tea and maybe discuss the glee master class for the following day. But before Will had even managed to close the front door Rachel was pulling off his jacket.

"I need you now." She told him as she seductively bit her lip. She was going to relish every second with Will she still had. Will responded by taking her by the hand and leading her to his bedroom.

As they reached Will's bed Rachel reached up, pulling them together for a kiss. His arms encircled her as he lifted her onto the bed, one hand sliding along her hip and down to her leg, already half-bare. Every nerve in her body lit up, and she could feel his desire building. Steadily, the intensity of their kiss increased. It was filled with love but became much more – something hungry and powerful. She clung to him; one arm around his neck while the other hand gripped his back so hard that her nails almost dug in. He laid her back down on the bed. His hands wrapped around her waist, and then one of them slid down the back of her thigh and pulled it up so that it neatly wrapped around him.

At the same time, they both pulled apart briefly, yet still so close. As Will looked into Rachel's eyes, he tried to sense what she was feeling. He didn't know how but he could tell something was wrong with her. She had wanted him so passionately but something was missing. It was small, but somehow present.

"Keep kissing me", she told him, breathless.

Then is mouth was on hers again, his hesitation from before forgotten. Their bodies wrapped together as he removed her jacket, then his shirt and then hers. As more clothes came off and he looked into her eyes, Rachel could see without a doubt that he loved her, probably more than anyone ever. Which was why it killed her that instead of discussing her future with him like her deserved, she'd sprung her lustful desire on him.

Now both completely naked, Rachel turned them so that she was on top wanting to forget about anything and everything. Momentarily she paused as Will raised his hand up to cup her cheek and pull her head down to press his lips against hers and massage her tongue with his. Slowly, Rachel began to ride him, rocking her body against his. As their pace fastened Will moved them so that he was on top, positioned between her legs. He stroked her thigh as she wrapped her legs around him again. Rachel pulled herself closer to him, wanting his contact, but more than anything to feel something with him. Emotionally that is. But no matter how hard she tried to be in sync with him, her mind was elsewhere, and Will could sense it.

When they were finished Rachel laid her head back against him. Will's arms encircled her wanting to keep her close. Neither of them mentioned what they both sensed had been there; or what had been missing. Will just held her in his arms, hoping that everything would be okay, clueless to what was going on inside Rachel's mind.

**xxx**

As she walked back through the halls for McKinley Rachel felt more comfortable than the last time. Will had asked her to come in to help him, he respected her, and that meant more to her than he would ever know. After she'd signed in as a day guest with the receptionist, she went to meet Will in his office.

"Hi" she seductively said as she swung herself into the doorway of his office. But there was no one there. Confused she turned back around into the empty hallway to have a look. She sat down in his chair while she waited for him. After another 5 minutes Rachel began to worry. With everything that had been consuming her mind lately her head was in a rather stressful state. So little things had been beginning to concern her.

"Oh my God" she shouted, when feel had finally appeared. "Where have you been?" she asked accusingly.

"Rachel, what's going on!" he said concerned as he took her into his embrace. "I was in the bathroom" he said slightly laughing.

"Oh." She said embarrassed. "So maybe I overreacted?" she said sadly smiling.

"Maybe" he said as planted a kiss on her forehead. "Come on" he continued "let's walk over to glee class" he said as he took her by the hand and led her out of his office.

As they walked towards the Glee room, Will couldn't shake the feeling that Rachel was hiding something. Her strange reaction to him not being in his office also didn't fill him with assurance that everything was okay.

"Is everything okay Rach?" he asked. Without an immediate response Will continued, "Look… if there's anything you need to tell me, you can. Whatever it is, it's okay."

"Yeah?" she asked as she stopped walking.

"Of course." He said running his hand through her hair.

"Well, there is actually something I want to talk about. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Sure" he said, "Now come on, lets get our 'glee' on" he said trying to enthuse her

"Yep. Let's do it." She said, giving his hand a squeeze.

**xxx**

Going to the gym over the past ten years had always been a consistent source of stress relief for her. She could spend an hour or more at the gym and not have to think about anything or worry about her constant pressures. By exerting herself, she would release them. Today would have been no different, if it weren't for one not so tiny and incredibly maddening factor; she still hadn't told Will that she was moving back to New York in two weeks. Her love bubble still hadn't burst, but the cracks were feeling stronger than ever. No matter how fast she ran on the treadmill or how hard she pushed her legs on the spin bikes she couldn't get off her mind what lay ahead of her this day. She needed to tell Will, and she would do it tonight. The problem was she had no idea how to say it.

As she powered her way on the treadmill, she wondered what Will's reaction would be. She knew that he would be incredibly happy for her getting the part in Wicked, but she was so scared of what it would imply. She wanted to have all the answers right away, and be able to tell him that everything would be okay and tell him exactly how they're relationship would work. But she couldn't.

Rachel ran herself so ragged on the treadmill distracted by her thoughts that she hadn't noticed a familiar pair of eyes watching her. As she dragged her way off to the change rooms, barely able to walk in a straight line, she felt an arm wrap itself around her waist from behind. The owner of the arm whispered in her ear

"Hey Berry". She knew that voice.

"Get off me Noah", Rachel shouted as she removed his hand from her waist.

"Oh come on now. That's not very nice babe", Noah mocked.

"Firstly Noah, I am not your 'babe' and secondly, you have no business touching me like that."

"You didn't mind last time", he said, once again moving Rachel into his embrace.

Rachel was furious. But he was right. She hadn't minded last time. In fact, she'd been the instigator. _ I want you now, _she had said. Realising that she had never made it clear on what terms there time together was on, Rachel grimaced, For all he knew she was in a relationship when they'd slept together, and had no reason not to think that she'd be interested in him flirting with her again, or even doing it again. Particularly considering how shamelessly she had been flirting with him the last time.

"Look…" She started as she once again removed his arms from around her. "Last time was a mistake. You are married, and I'm…" she faltered not wanting to discuss Will with him.

"You're what Rachel? Not attracted to this?" He said referring to his 6 pack.

Before Rachel could think of what to say Puck had plastered his lips on hers and _she_ was unknowingly kissing back, A matter of seconds past before she managed to come to her senses and push him off her.

"Just leave me ALONE!" she shouted, frighting even herself by the urgency of her voice. Panicked Rachel Grabbed her things from the change room and ran out of the gym.

Rachel sat in her car for a long time before she could move. Now as well as the fact that she needed to have a serious discussion about the future of her relationship with Will, she had to somehow deal with the fact that she had, had an affair with Noah Puckerman; a married man. Even though Rachel and Will hadn't been official at the time, she knew this would hit Will hard. She remembered how hurt he'd been that day he'd seen them in the kitchen together,

_"What the fuck?" He shouted at the two of them. His face emanating is feelings of hurt and confusion._

_ "What the hell is this Rachel? What's wrong with you, you're flirting with a married man. What about us?" Rachel looked from Will to Noah, who had stayed silent. His words had stung. Even more than she had realised. When she looked back at Will he'd already turned her back on them and was walking away from the party._

_No_, she thought. Will could not and would not find about this. She would find a way to silence Noah Puckerman.

**xxx**

Elsie was the only person that knew about what had happened with Puck. Which was why she found herself banging on Elsie's hotel door, approximately an hour before she was expecting Will at her house for dinner.

"Elsie, it's me and it's urgent so please open the door", she begged before she'd even given Elsie the appropriate amount of time to open the door.

"Ray?" Elsie asked as she opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"Everything" she answered feeling herself crumble inside. Moving her way through the door way without a second glance, Rachel began her ramble. "I've been keeping so many things from Will and I don't know how I'm going to tell him, and then I ran into Puck and this whole incident happened and now I have to tell Will about him too and…Matt? She awkwardly squeaked, looking up to see his form in the room.

"I… Matt…I ah… I didn't see you there…sorry, am I intruding on something?" she stuttered.

"Hey Rachel" he said giving her condoling smile, "Nah, you're fine, I was actually just getting ready to go."

"Rach, how about you go get a drink of water and sit down. I'll be back in one minute, okay?" Elsie told her as she ushered her towards the kitchen. Rachel slowly nodded taking her seat, worrying how much of what she'd just said had been coherent enough for Matt to make out. While Rachel set in the kitchen waiting for Elsie to return she anxiously eaves dropped on Elsie and Matt's conversation.

"What was she saying about Puck? And Will? Does she mean Will Schuester?" he asked Elsie.

Elsie was stressed. Up until now she had never been anything but completely honest with Matt. She'd never been like that in a relationship before. She didn't want to keep anything from him. But this was Rachel, and she didn't know what she could say to work her way around this one. If only Matt hadn't heard what Rachel had been rambling about.

"Look it's complicated" she started, thinking carefully about the words she should use. "And I… I just can't really…" Matt cut her off by softly pressing his lips against hers, causing her to smile greatly. Rachel admired how radiant it made her look.

"I get it babe." He told her, "You two are best friends, hell, more than best friends. You're like sisters. I'm not going to try to breach a trust like that. What you two have is special, and you're a great friend. So you just do what you gotta do, and call me tomorrow."

"And that's why I love you. You just get me." She told him

"I do." he said pulling her into him and kissing her again.

"Are you going to call the real estate agent tomorrow?" he asked her once they broke apart.

"Yes, I'll call her then I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay. I'll be thinking about you Hun." He said before once again passionately grabbing her whole body and kissing her.

After he'd left Elsie walked back to the kitchen to find Rachel not so patiently waiting for her.

"Ray you look pale" Elsie said full of concern. Lifting her palm to Rachel's forehead, Elsie tried to discern whether Rachel had some kind of temperature. "Okay… I have no idea how to tell if you've got a temperature like this, but it's what I see people do movies." She joked, but Rachel wasn't laughing at her crap humour like she usually did. In fact Rachel couldn't manage to conjure up any kind of sound.

"But you are incredibly sweaty, do you want a shower or something? And we can talk after?"

Nodding her head, Rachel let Elsie walk her towards the bathroom, and get settled in the shower. Choosing a coolish temperature, Rachel let the stream of water calm and soothe her. She really needed to get her shit together. She slowly dried herself off with a towel and got dressed in some of Elsie's clothes that she'd laid out on the bed for her.

Elsie was sitting on the couch waiting for her when she came out. "Come" she said beckoning Rachel as she patted the spot next to her.

"Now…" Elsie started, "are you ready to talk like a normal person and tell me what's going on?"

"I got cast in Wicked. I'm Elphaba." Rachel told her struggling to maintain her breathing.

"How long have you known? You didn't tell me?" Elsie asked confused.

"I found out as soon as I returned from New York after my audition. I didn't even have a call back."

"Okay… and… this is bad because?"

"It's bad because it means I have to go back to New York immediately after the weekend. As in leave Lima where the man I love lives and has strong fulfilling life and go back to New York." Rachel spewed out stressfully.

"Well, what has Will had to say about this?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean? Why?"

"He hasn't said anything because he doesn't know... I don't know how to tell him. I'm so scared of what he will say, because it's going to mean the end of us. And I can't bare returning to New York knowing what I've left behind, but I'm not willing to choose between him and my career."

Without saying anything Elsie hugged her. Because she didn't need to say anything Rachel knew that Elsie was there for her with an endless supply of support.

"Oh God and now Puck..." Rachel said beginning to tear.

"What happened? I thought he was done with?" Elsie asked confused.

"Apparently not." She told her "He approached me in the gym, and kissed me. It had probably been a full minute before I had the restraint to push him off me" she finished with dismay.

"Well…" Elsie said after they'd been sitting there in silence for a while. "He is going to need to be silenced, but for now we're going to sort through one issue at a time. Okay?"

"Okay" Rachel said in confirmation.

"First things first, you need to tell Will about Wicked. You owe it to him to let know what's going on so that you guys can have a proper discussion about this. Hiding this from him is just going to end up in a disaster."

"I know, I just don…"

"No." Elsie interrupted, cutting Rachel off. "Let me finish… you need to tell him when you are in the right state of mind. For example, right now probably wouldn't be the best time. Maybe over dinner or something..."

"DINNER!" Rachel shouted. "Oh my God Elsie, Will's supposed to be coming over for dinner tonight. I can't see him right now, I just can't! Not after seeing Puck, I feel so dirty and wrong I just can't."

"Calm down Ray. I'll go call him for you. I'll just tell him you have food poisoning or something it'll be okay. I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay but please sound convincing! I don't want him thinking something is up, before I get the chance to tell him something is up."

"Yes, yes I promise" Elsie said before walking out of the room.

When Elsie returned, Rachel had curdled up into a ball and was half asleep. Sitting down next to her, Elsie placed Rachel's head in her lap and brushed the back of her hand against her cheek.

"Are you awake?" she asked.

"Mmm" she answered slowly opening her eyes. "Was he okay? What did he say?"

"Everything's fine. He was worried about you, but understood. I think he'd like it if you gave him a call in the morning to let him know that everything's okay." She told her.

"But for now, you're staying the night here, I've let your Dad's know and everything's fine, so come on. Let's get you in bed."

"Hey Els?" Rachel asked as she drowsily let Elsie move her towards the bedroom.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Did I hear Matt say something about a real estate agent?"

"Yeah I guess you did." She responded with a smirk. "I was actually going to call you tonight to tell you before you showed up, but um…Matt is moving to New York with me. We're looking for apartments."

"Oh, okay" was all Rachel said. She was too tired to get into anything right now. But it did distress her to see how much easier things were going for Matt and Elsie.

Later that night as Rachel fell asleep next to Elsie, she muddled over how she was going to bring up Wicked with Will. Tomorrow was Quinn's Rehearsal dinner, so she would be busy all day. Telling him tomorrow would only add an extra layer of stress to her day. She would tell him after the dinner. She'd get him to come back to her place after the dinner was over and have a calm level headed discussion with him.

It was going to be fine.


	10. Rehearsals

**Rehearsals**

**xxx**

His hand wrapped around her waist, as the other one slid down the back of her thigh; pulling it up so it neatly wrapped around him. Their bodies wrapped together as he removed her shirt, then his pants, and then her pants. Soon he was thrusting, hard, in and out of her, making her feel in places she didn't no existed. This man knew how to work her body. She momentarily broke away from their kiss, to look her man in the eyes. But an unexpected pair of eyes greeted her. They were pucks, before she could move or say anything, his mouth was on hers again and he continued to thrust. She let out a muffled scream and woke up.

It had been a dream. No, not a dream, it had been a nightmare. Her eyes, now wide opened looked around the room; making sure was indeed not in bed with Puck. Turning to her side she found Will's body next to her, fast asleep. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep; like a happy, newborn baby. It was killing her to keep what had happened with Puck a secret from him. If she had have told him ages ago, they could have long past it. But it was too late now. Rachel nestled into Will's side placing her hand and head across his body. She wrapped her legs amongst his, willing herself to not dream of Puck again.

Will woke not long after; lavishing her with kisses and smiles as he usually did.

'Want some breakfast?" Will asked after he had finally managed to tear his lips away from her body.

"Yes! I'm definitely up for a feed after last nights workout." She told him lustfully giggling.

"Well get used to it! There's a lot more where that came from!" He told her as he planted a kiss on her forehead and jumped out of bed to prepare breakfast.

As they ate breakfast together on Will's kitchen table, the couple shared happy smiles and knowing glances between bites of food.

"It feels a little like we're grown ups now doesn't it? Enjoying our bacon and eggs and reading the newspaper. I think I kind of like it." Rachel said once she'd eaten enough.

"That would be fun wouldn't it? Being happy when we're 'old'." Will replied, continuing the joke.

"Yes. It would." she said still smiling.

"Yes." Will laughed

"And I would say something like, what's on for your day today dear?"

"Yes, and I would answer with a smart reply like, marking papers, disciplining children. And you my dear?"

"Oh you know! Girly things, organising my friends wedding and such…"

"I love you" Will told her.

It was funny how it just came out like that. It had been fun pretending to be grown ups, even though they knew that's kind of what they were. When Rachel didn't reply straight away, Will had already begun to think of an exit strategy. He could tell her that it was part of the role playing. But Rachel had stopped him before the need. They had said they loved each other before but never with as much depth that Will had just used.

"I love you too" She told him, before continuing to eat her breakfast; even though she wasn't hungry anymore. She hadn't lied; she really did love him. But it meant that what was happening between her and Will was as serious as she'd begun to speculate, and she had a million things weighing down her. She needed to be open with Will before it got any further. Before anyone's heart was broken. But it was possibly too late for that already

"Okay so I'll see you tonight at the rehearsal dinner" she told him as she was getting ready to leave. She had a million things to today, getting ready for Quinn and Finn's wedding rehearsal dinner tonight. She'd put her hand up for the job of finalising arrangements, so she would have to do them.

"Yep, see you there hun." He told her giving her soft kiss on the lips before she departed.

As Rachel got into her car, and readied herself for the day ahead, she prayed for god to give her strength to survive the day. Once this crazy day was over, she could sit down with Will and have a rational discussion. Until then she would be busy.

**xxx**

The first item on her checklist was to checkout the venue for the party and make sure everything was in order. The places she'd booked was Perrins. The place she'd gone on her date with Will, and the place she bumped into Puck. It was ironic that it would now be that place for Quinn's rehearsal dinner but it wasn't really because it was one of the only trendy places in Lima. When she arrived at the restaurant things seemed to be in a mess. The stuff was rushing around and was certainly not acting in the manner that a function would be happening here in mere hours.

"Um excuse me?" Rachel asked to no one, her presence having been ignored as she stood there for the past few minutes. Finally a member of staff managed to notice her, and paid her attention.

"Hi, can I help you?" The waitress asked, clearly ruffled.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry, I'm here to just finalise all the arrangement for a function I've arranged here tonight. It's the rehearsal dinner for my friends wedding."

"Oh yes, Quinn Fabray and Finn Hudsons correct?" The waitress said perking up.

"Yes, that's it" Rachel answered relieved that she seemed to be getting somewhere.

"Ah well…" the waitress nervously began, "The thing is…there's been a slight mishap?"

"Define slight mishap" Rachel said feeling the rage build up inside of her.

"Look it's not my fault, it's my first day I had nothing to do with please don't be mad at me." The girl was young. She probably never worked before and had gotten the job straight out of high school.

"…You've been double booked and the caterers have cancelled on us,"

"You have got to be KIDDING ME!" Rachel shouted.

"You promised you wouldn't be angry with me."

"I did no such thing!" Rachel replied infuriated.

"Oh God." The girl said in despair. Feeling worried that she'd taken her anger out on the wrong person; Rachel tried to half console whilst still working out how the situation could be salvaged.

"Look… are we able to fix this? This is my friend's wedding rehearsal dinner, it's a very important night…you have no idea how long everyone has been waiting for this. Everything has to go just right. Is there another caterer in town we could call?"

"Everywhere respectable has told us they don't have enough time to prepare what is needed."

"Well how bad are the places that are not 'respectable'?"

"Terrible."

"What if we changed into just finger food? That would be much easier to handle wouldn't it?"

The girl thought for a second, but didn't seem to come up with the right answer. "Are you able to wait here for a bit? I'll make a few calls, I'll do what I can for you." She said.

"Yes, please do what ever you can!"

As Rachel nervously waited for what she hoped would be positive outcome she prayed that she would not have to call Quinn with bad news. At the moment she went to get her phone from her purse it began to ring. It was Olivier.

The last thing she needed now was to talk to Oliver. Somehow, he managed to wind her up into a wreck every time he said or did anything these days. She immediately declined the call, but as soon as she put her phone away it began to ring again. And again. Fed up, she finally switched off her phone; not wanting to even see is name on her phone.

Rachel was so flustered that when the girl returned she had not even noticed her. The girl was out of breath but smiling.

"Great news!" she said

"Yes?" Rachel asked full of hope.

"Yep, the catering company who double booked you, is associated with another catering company just out of town. They're prepared to bring them in for the night at no extra cost to you. Apparently their even classier!"

"What's the catch?" Rachel asked,

"Well there isn't a catch really. It was the company's stuff up so you shouldn't have to pay for it. The menu will be a little different but will have the same basics."

"Ok, it'll have to do, thank you for sorting it out." She said still worried.

**xxx**

"Hi Dad" She said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello Bumblebee" he replied happy to see her.

"Can you stay for lunch?" Her other father asked entering the room. "I've been cooking! Those cooking classes you bought us last Christmas have really paid off! Look at this, I've made risotto." He said full of pride.

"Yes, I can stay. That looks great" She said giving him a hug.

"Alright, well you go freshen up, and I'll set the table!"

"Sounds great!" She said running off to the bathroom. It was so nice to come home and have lunch with her fathers. She was so lucky to have parents that still cared; most of her own friend's parents weren't much apart of their lives. In fact hers hadn't really been either, but that was mostly her fault.

"Yum, this is great!" she exclaimed, after her first taste.

"Thanks sweet pea!" Hiram said.

"Hey, by the way, I'm sorry I haven't been spending more time with you while I've been back home. I've been kind of selfish actually." She said a little sad, it wasn't that the realisation had just hit her, but sitting here having an enjoyable meal with her family made her realise just how little of these moments had been had since she'd come back.

"What! Selfish?"

"Oh honey no!" The other one finished.

"You don't owe us anything. Just having you here in our home has been enough! We love you sweetie, we expect you to have fun with your friends. And of course we'd love to spend as much time as possible with you, but you've given us plenty!"

"You guys are amazing" she said smiling.

"But now we're on the topic of you being home. What are your plans for the near future? "

"Are you staying around after the wedding?"

"When do you need to be back in New York?"

"Well, actually I was about to tell you about that. I have to go back almost straight after the wedding for rehearsals."

No one said anything after that.

"Well, we will miss you, but New York's where you belong little bee, we just hope it won't be as long until you come visit us again."

"Don't worry it definitely won't be. I've been enjoying my time here so much, I can't believe it had been so long since I'd been here."

"What are you going do about William?"

"Hiram! We discussed discretion…"

"No it's okay. I um…I actually don't know."

"Whatever you decide to do honey, do it for yourself, we know you'll do the right thing."

"Thank daddy, thanks dad."

"Okay now finish your meal, you're far too thin!"

**xxx**

Rachel had told Elsie, she could pick her up and take her to the rehearsal dinner, but she hadn't accounted how much extra time she would need to take. By the time she'd raced to the drycleaners, picked up her outfit, and gotten changed she drove over to Elsie's she was already really late. She rushed up to Elsie door and knocked a couple times but the door never opened. Worried, she went to check her phone and realised that it was still turned off from this morning. Opening her phone she was bombarded with notifications of missed calls and missed messages. Elsie had sent her one earlier that day letting her know she was going to arrive with Matt and they she wouldn't need to be picked up. She'd had more missed calls from Oliver but she also had 20 missed calls from Will. This worried her a little, but she'd be able to find out what was going on when she saw him at the party so didn't bother returning any of his calls.

When Rachel finally arrived the party was in full swing. She was stressed because she was supposed to be here to make sure everything ran smoothly, and she hadn't even managed to arrive on time. She looked around the room full of people, to find Quinn or Annabelle; she needed to finalise when they were all going to do their speeches.

"You look like you need a drink sweetie." Elsie said from behind her.

Turning around slightly startled Rachel gave a kiss on the cheek. "You're probably right but I need to find Quinn." She said with exhaustion.

"What's wrong babe? You're a little pale?" Elsie asked with concern.

"Just a really long day and a million things on my mind, but this is a party and I am going to enjoy myself!" she said pulling herself together.

"So lets go get that drink", Elsie said leading her towards the bar.

"Can I just get a glass of white wine?" Rachel asked

"Is the house wine fine?" the bartender asked her

"Yeah sure, whatever." Rachel answered carelessly.

"What's with you? You were so rude to that poor guy. And he was super cute! If I wasn't here with Matt who knows what I'd do to him!" Elsie told her winking.

"I don't know, I'm not really feeling like myself I guess." As soon as she said it she realised how much tension she had been keeping in.

"Rachel Hi!" a very happy Tina shouted as she ran up to Rachel and gave her a hug.

Rachel chatted briefly with Tina and Elsie but her mind was still set on looking for Quinn, and talking to Will.

"Guys, I'll be back in a second, I have to touch base with Quinn I really need to call Will and find out where he is." Rachel told them

"You're not going to be able to hear anything from your phone in hear." Elsie told her

"Yeah, that's alright I'm just going to drop into the storeroom out the back. See you in a sec." she said leaving straight away.

As she moved to walk towards the storeroom she caught eyes with Puck from across the room. He'd kept his boundaries like she'd asked the other day, but his eyes still beckoned her. Angrily she looked away and continued to walk towards the backroom.

She eventually found the backroom where she could find some silence to call Will. As she struggled to pull her phone out of her purse she immediately felt something shove her into the Wall. Rachel stumbled letting her hands steady her body into the wall. Regaining her composure she turned around, bewildered and confused as to what had occurred. She turned around to come face to face with a snarling Joanne.

"What the fuck!" Rachel shouted.

"What the fuck?" Joanne laughed back at her, mocking Rachel with her tone.

As Rachel stared confused Joanne continued, "I know what you've done you little whore!" she yelled at her.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel almost shouted back with annoyance.

"You now exactly…" she angrily laughed, "…sleeping with a married man! How fucking classy!" she yelled becoming hysterical.

"Joanne you don't understand…" Rachel pleaded, having no idea what she was saying, or how she was going to work her way out of this one.

"Does your new man no about this? Perhaps I should go tell him!" she said moving to leave.

In a moment of terror Rachel moved to grab Joanne to stop her, but Joanne resisted too strongly, causing Rachel to struggle and slip, pulling them to the ground. Joanne retaliated by slapping Rachel right across the face, causing Rachel to yelp in pain.

"He's going to love hearing all about how much of a slut his girlfriend is isn't he." Joanne threatened as she held Rachel's face against the ground

"No!" Rachel shouted, "You can't tell him!" she screamed out almost crying. As Joanne stood up to leave, Rachel followed but in the rush of things didn't look where she was going and bumped directly into the stiff wall of a person's body. Looking up to see whom it was she found Will's hurt face looking back at her. Slowly she stepped back, trying to assess how much Will had seen.

"Will, I…" Rachel began, but Will cut her off straight away.

"Is…it…true?" he slowly but sternly asked her unable to move is eyes from their fixated location on the floor.

She looked over at Joanne, who was almost crying her self in all her anger. She looked back at Will unsure how to begin to explain to him what she'd done.

"IS IT TRUE!?" he now shouted at her, his eyes now boring a whole through her heart.

But she couldn't answer. All she could do was let her tears flow like a stream down her face, and feel her heart crumble in on itself as she watched Will walk out of the storm room, and out of her life.

**xxx**

"Rachel I think you need to get out of bed and do something." Her father told her.

Her fathers didn't know the full story of what had happened but they had found her in complete wreck after Elsie had delivered her home from Quinn and Finn's rehearsal dinner a week ago. It took the whole tonight to get any sort of word out of her that wasn't captured in a bevy of cries. Since then she'd only really left the bed for bathroom stops and when her fathers had forced her to eat something.

"I can't" Rachel said miserably, before pulling her duvet over her head and waited to hear her fathers closing her door behind them.

It wasn't long before they tried again.

"Rachel, Elsie is here to see you. Don't you want to see her?"

"I don't want her to see me."

"Well too bad sweet cheeks." Elsie said marching in. She had made numerous attempts to check in on Rachel, but Rachel had been set on locking herself away. She'd had enough and finally needed to just come over and sort things out. She was however, not going to hold anything against Rachel for seeking seclusion.

Moving into her room, Elsie came to sit next to Rachel on her bed and gently gave her a stroke on the cheek. Pulling Rachel's hair out of her face as she laid their, Elsie began to relate to Rachel that everything would eventually work out the way they were supposed to. But Rachel was hard to convince.

"I've fucked everything up." Rachel said exasperated, finally sitting up.

"No you haven't" Elsie said trying to console her. "At least not permanently."

"How do you know that Els? I might have ruined my only chance at something good, forever." Rachel said still concerned.

"From experience."

"What do you mean?"

"Something has happened…"Elsie said smiling.

"What is it?"

"I feel horrible telling you this now, after everything that's happened."

"Elsie just say it."

"Matt proposed" She said nervously anticipating Rachel's reaction.

"You guys barely know each other though."

"When it's right you just know. I think about all the time umming and ahhing about my future and as it turned out that would have been the completely wrong thing for me and with Matt I just knew straight away. It's not like we're in any rush to get married but it's a commitment. He's going to look for work in New York, obviously New York is where I need to be for my career and he's committed to go there for me. Everything is just right this time Ray."

"I happy for you Els. Really, I am. I wish you all the best." She said pulling Elsie into a hug. She felt the tears running down her face and tried to sniffle them away. She was happy for her best friend, but her feeling of woe had not yet disappeared.

The next week flew by with final preparations for the wedding. Rachel hadn't heard from Will once, and she'd been too nervous to attempt contacting him; she had no idea where she would even begin. She would have to make up and apologise for everything she'd done only to tell him she was leaving for New York the day after the wedding; basically leaving no opportunity for them to have a future. She was sure he wouldn't want to hear from her anyway.

Before Rachel new it the wedding day had arrived and she would be saying goodbye to everyone in Lima,

The wedding was beautiful. The floral arrangement included orchards, Quinn's favourite flower, white roses and lilies. Quinn was classic and elegant in her white dress, but the most beautiful part of all was the glow that beamed from her face when she looked at Finn. And when Finn looked at her. Their day had finally arrived after all these years, and everyone they loved was there for them. Not even Rachel's troubles could stop everything from going perfectly.

At the reception Finn and Quinn danced to endless love. Rachel could have cried. She'd sung that to Will once, so many years ago. As the night went on, Rachel took moments to glance over to where Will was standing. He didn't look angry, although she was sure he was, but he looked sad. Watching how happy everyone around them seemed was hard for both of them.

She couldn't remember how it happened, but somehow she'd been roped into dancing with Ben Israel. Time hadn't improved his looks much, but it had improved his personality. She didn't even know he was invited, but he was, and dancing with him wasn't even that bad. That was, until he decided he was going to push her directly into the arms of Will and make her dance with him. Apparently Ben Israel was just as scheming as ever…Not baring to look at her Will turned to walk away immediately.

"Will" she said desperately from behind him. He didn't answer, or even look at her; he was too hurt.

"I'm going back to New York tomorrow, and I won't be coming back." At hearing her words he turned around. He was angry with her, but he hadn't lost hope that in the future they could talk about everything. He just wasn't ready to yet.

Rachel stood speechless for a moment as a tear slid down will's face.

"I wanted to tell you" Rachel said, "I was going to tell you last week…but-"

"But you never tell me anything, right? He shouted cutting her off.

"No, I…"

"Just go. Obviously you were never planning on seeing things through here so you don't need to explain anything to me. Just go." He said with distaste before leaving her alone on the dance floor.


End file.
